Sensitivity to chlorpromazine effects on brain function of schizophrenics and normals - A preliminary report

For the purpose of quantitative demonstration of the sensitivity to chlorpromazine (CPZ) effects on brain functions of schizophrenics and normal subjects polygraphic recordings of electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrodermal response (EDR) were performed before and 3 h after oral administration of 25 mg of CPZ; percent time waking EEG (% W-EEG) and number per minute of EDR were measured during the resting period and the period of calculation. In 10 normal adult subjects, both % W-EEG and number of EDR showed remarkable decrease after CPZ administration. In 22 schizophrenics, however, % W-EEG showed no significant decrease after CPZ administration. Number of EDR in schizophrenics during the period of calculation did not show any significant decrease. The neural mechanism under-lying the lower sensitivity to CPZ effects in schizophrenics was discussed.