Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Barbiturates

Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Barbiturates

Sedatives and hypnotics encompass a drug class that acts on the central nervous system (CNS) to alleviate anxiety, promote relaxation and induce sleep.These drugs function by amplifying the actions of the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), resulting in reduced neuronal activity. Barbiturates, a subset of sedatives and hypnotics first synthesized in the late 1800s, are categorized into ultra-short, short, intermediate, and long-acting groups based on their duration of effect. A key...

CNS Depressants: Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines

CNS Depressants: Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines

CNS depressants include drugs from the category of barbiturates and benzodiazepines. They are valuable medications for managing anxiety disorders and insomnia. Barbiturates, once used to induce and maintain sleep, have been replaced mainly by benzodiazepines due to barbiturate's toxicity, tolerance, and overdose risks. They interact with GABAA receptors, leading to sedation at low doses and potentially coma and death at higher doses. Phenobarbital, a long-acting barbiturate, possesses...

Nondepolarizing (Competitive) Neuromuscular Blockers: Pharmacological Actions

Nondepolarizing (Competitive) Neuromuscular Blockers: Pharmacological Actions

Nondepolarizing neuromuscular blockers prevent the membrane depolarization of muscle cells and inhibit muscle contraction. These are usually administered with anesthetics to achieve complete muscle relaxation. Upon administration, these drugs first block the small, rapidly contracting muscles of the face and hands, followed by the larger muscles of the trunk and the intercostal muscles. The diaphragm is the last muscle to be affected.
Although all competitive neuromuscular blockers are designed...

Drug Toxicity: Dose-Dependent Reactions

Drug Toxicity: Dose-Dependent Reactions

Drug toxicities can be stratified into pharmacological, pathological, or genotoxic based on their mechanisms. The incidence and severity of these toxicities generally increase with the drug's concentration in the body and exposure time.Pharmacological toxicity is evident when the therapeutic effects of drugs overshoot into adverse reactions in a predictable, dose-dependent manner. Central nervous system (CNS) depression from barbiturates is a classic example, with effects escalating from...

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

Intravenous anesthetics are drugs administered parenterally to induce anesthesia or sedation. Propofol is a widely used agent formulated as a 1% emulsion in soybean oil, glycerol, and egg phosphatide. It induces rapid anesthesia primarily due to its rapid distribution from the bloodstream to target tissues and is metabolized in the liver. However, it can cause significant pain on injection and hypertriglyceridemia. Fospropofol, a water-based prodrug of propofol, lacks these adverse effects.

Phase I Reactions: Oxidation of Aliphatic and Aromatic Carbon-Containing Systems

Phase I Reactions: Oxidation of Aliphatic and Aromatic Carbon-Containing Systems

Phase I biotransformation reactions are integral to drug metabolism, predominantly involving oxidative, reductive, and hydrolytic transformations. Chief among these are oxidative reactions, which enhance the hydrophilicity of xenobiotics and introduce polar functional groups to facilitate their elimination from the body.
Oxidation reactions are fundamental in aromatic carbon-containing systems. An example is the hydroxylation of phenobarbital, a process that transforms it into...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

A per-cent-level determination of the nucleon axial coupling from quantum chromodynamics.

Nature·2018

Same author

Duration of activity and mode of action of modafinil: Studies on sleep and wakefulness in humans.

Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)·2013

Same author

Performance and impaired performance.

British journal of clinical pharmacology·2012

Same author

Effect of diazepam and fosazepam (a soluble derivative of diazepam) on sleep in man.

British journal of clinical pharmacology·2012

Same author

Effect of a metabolite of diazepam, 3-hydroxydiazepam (temazepam), on sleep in man.

British journal of clinical pharmacology·2012

Same author

Fatigue countermeasures and the use of hypnotics in aircrew.

Aviation, space, and environmental medicine·2009

Same journal

UGT1A1 genotype testing for irinotecan: A guideline developed by the UK Centre of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation in Pharmacogenomics (CERSI-PGx).

British journal of clinical pharmacology·2026

Same journal

Comparative risk of ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death among acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in dementia: A population-based cohort study.

British journal of clinical pharmacology·2026

Same journal

Population pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of canagliflozin in paediatric patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

British journal of clinical pharmacology·2026

Same journal

Impact of cumulative glucocorticoid exposure on vancomycin clearance in hospitalized children: A retrospective cohort study.

British journal of clinical pharmacology·2026

Same journal

Development of a population pharmacokinetic model using combined paediatric and adult data for four pulmonary arterial hypertension drugs.

British journal of clinical pharmacology·2026

Same journal

Case-malformed signal detection and prioritisation using EUROmediCAT data for pharmacovigilance in pregnancy.

British journal of clinical pharmacology·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Assessing Changes in Volatile General Anesthetic Sensitivity of Mice after Local or Systemic Pharmacological Intervention

Assessing Changes in Volatile General Anesthetic Sensitivity of Mice after Local or Systemic Pharmacological Intervention

Published on: October 16, 2013

Human performance after a barbiturate (heptabarbitone).

R G Borland¹, A N Nicholson

¹Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine, Farnborough, Hampshire.

British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology

|March 29, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study reveals that heptabarbitone impairs cognitive performance for up to 19 hours, with effects increasing with dosage. Subjective performance reports did not accurately reflect actual cognitive deficits, especially at higher doses.

More Related Videos

Computer-based Multitaper Spectrogram Program for Electroencephalographic Data

Computer-based Multitaper Spectrogram Program for Electroencephalographic Data

Published on: November 13, 2019

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers

Published on: January 13, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 23, 2026

Assessing Changes in Volatile General Anesthetic Sensitivity of Mice after Local or Systemic Pharmacological Intervention

Assessing Changes in Volatile General Anesthetic Sensitivity of Mice after Local or Systemic Pharmacological Intervention

Published on: October 16, 2013

Computer-based Multitaper Spectrogram Program for Electroencephalographic Data

Computer-based Multitaper Spectrogram Program for Electroencephalographic Data

Published on: November 13, 2019

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers

Published on: January 13, 2018

Area of Science:

Pharmacology
Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology

Background:

Heptabarbitone is a sedative-hypnotic drug.
Understanding the duration and dose-dependency of its residual effects is crucial for patient safety and performance monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the residual effects of varying doses of heptabarbitone on cognitive performance.
To compare objective performance measures with subjective self-assessments.
To explore the relationship between blood concentrations and performance decrements.

Main Methods:

An adaptive tracking technique was employed to measure performance.
Participants received different doses of heptabarbitone (200 mg, 300 mg, 400 mg) or placebo.
Performance was assessed at multiple time intervals post-ingestion.
Subjective performance assessments were collected and compared with objective data.

Main Results:

Performance decrements were observed at 10, 13, 16, and 19-hour intervals, dose-dependently.
Significant performance decrements persisted up to 19 hours after a 400 mg dose.
Subjective self-assessments generally overestimated performance and did not correlate with objective measures at later time points.
Individual blood concentrations of heptabarbitone did not significantly correlate with individual performance decrements.

Conclusions:

Heptabarbitone exhibits prolonged residual effects on cognitive performance, with significant impairment lasting up to 19 hours at higher doses.
Subjective awareness of impairment is unreliable, as individuals tend to overestimate their performance.
The findings highlight the importance of objective performance monitoring following heptabarbitone administration, especially at higher doses.