title: The effects of zimeldine and amitriptyline on car driving and psychomotor performance.
abstract: The development of an objective measure of car driving performance, brake reaction time (BRT), is described, and the effects of amitriptyline and zimeldine on this measure are compared in a placebo-controlled, acute, single dose, volunteer study. The effects of treatment on laboratory tests of critical flicker fusion (CFF) threshold, choice reaction time (CRT) and tracking accuracy and on self-assessments of sedation are also examined. At 2 hours post-treatment, amitriptyline produced a significant increase in brake reaction time when compared to both placebo and zimeldine. At 4 hours post-treatment, a significant reduction in "tracking accuracy" and a significant increase in CRT was observed after treatment with amitriptyline, while no such effects were seen with zimeldine. Measures of CFF threshold and self-ratings of sedation also revealed that amitriptyline produced a significant degree of sedation at 4 hours when compared to zimeldine and placebo. In contrast, zimeldine produced elevated CFF threshold, but did not affect self-ratings of sedation.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000639:Amitriptyline / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001334:Automobile Driving; D005260:Female; D005425:Flicker Fusion / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects; D015031:Zimeldine / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D000639:Amitriptyline; D015031:Zimeldine