The effect of 1-arylcylohexylamine (sernyl) on twelve normal volunteers.

The drug Sernyl is described and the relevant literature reviewed. It was the first of a cyclohexylamine series introduced into anaesthetic practice because of its ability to produce analgesia without loss of consciousness. Post-operatively, however, psychiatric disturbances were common and the use of the drug in anaesthetic practice was curtailed. The drug appears to act at the thalamic level and produce changes in the reception of sensory stimuli. The effects on twelve normal volunteers are described and these contrasted with other psychoticomimetic drugs. As a result of this pilot study, possible lines of research are mentioned. As its action is relatively short, the syndrome produced is convenient to study from the psychological point of view.