In several recent experimental and clinical studies the action of chlorpromazine (2-chloro-10- [3-dimethylaminopropyl] phenothiazine hydrochloride) upon central nervous structures has been studied. Thus, Laborit and Huguénard10 demonstrated its general sedative action, and Courvoisier et al.2 reported several effects of the drug which were due to its central depressing action, e. g., its vasodilating, muscle-relaxant, and antiemetic properties. Both groups also pointed out that chlorpromazine potentiated anesthesia. Dobkin et al.,3 furthermore, have shown that it depresses reflexes elicited from the respiratory tract. Terzian17 and Hiebel et al.6 studied the effects of chlorpromazine upon the EEG. They found that the drug induced a synchronized pattern with slow waves and spindles, due to its depressing action upon the reticular activating system of the brain stem. Similar results have been obtained by Turner et al.18 and others in clinical studies.
Chlorpromazine has also been used as a muscle-relaxant