background research in the area of herbal psychopharmacology has clearly improved in recent decades. self-administration of herbal medicines has been the most popular therapeutic alternative to standard medicine. objectives since the extract of echium amoenum exhibits an anxiolytic effect, the aim of this study is to evaluate the anxiolytic and hypnotic effects in mice of the aqueous and ethano...

CONTEXT Ramelteon is a novel MT1 and MT2 melatonin receptor selective agonist recently approved for insomnia treatment. Most approved insomnia medications have potential for abuse and cause motor and cognitive impairment. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the potential for abuse, subjective effects, and motor and cognitive-impairing effects of ramelteon compared with triazolam, a classic benzodiazepine s...

BACKGROUND It has been shown that γ-aminobutyric acid exerts excitatory actions on the immature brain due to the increased expression of Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl(-) cotransporter isoform 1. The authors sought to clarify whether midazolam, a γ-aminobutyric acid-mimetic hypnotic agent, causes neuronal excitation that can be blocked by bumetanide, a selective inhibitor of Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl(-) cotransporter iso...

Dexmedetomidine (Dex), an alpha(2)-adrenoceptor agonist, is an effective analgesic and sedative drug in adults; however, little information is available about its efficacy in pediatric populations. Some anesthetics exhibit an age-dependent analgesic effect, e.g., nitrous oxide, being relatively ineffective in newborn rats. We investigated the analgesic and hypnotic efficacy of Dex using 6 cohor...