Effect of two weeks' treatment with chlordiazepoxide or flupenthixole, alone or in combination with alcohol, on psychomotor skills related to driving

Abstract

The effects of two weeks' treatment with chlordiazepoxide 10 mg t.i.d. or flupenthixole 0.5 mg t.i.d. on human psychomotor performance related to driving was examined on 20 healthy male students aged 20 to 23 years. The tests used were a choice reaction, two co-ordination and an attention test having correlation with traffic behaviour. Neither chlordiazepoxide nor flupenthixole impaired psychomotor performance on the 7th or 14th days of the experiment. The combination of either drug with 0.5 g/kg of alcohol impaired co-ordination and attention to an extent which can be considered dangerous for traffic and occupational life. Their interaction with alcohol was not so strong as that between diazepam and alcohol. The combination of chlordiazepoxide with alcohol tended to increase the anxiety of the normal subjects.