Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior
June 1, 1996
S Yajnik, J P Zacny, C J Young et al.
A crossover, double-blind trial with eleven healthy volunteers tested whether acute drug tolerance develops to the subjective, cognitive, and psychomotor effects of subanesthetic nitrous oxide at doses of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40%. Over a 120-minute inhalation period, there was little evidence of acute tolerance to the subjective or impairing effects at any concentration.
Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior
August 1, 1995
J P Zacny, S Yajnik, D Coalson et al.
In two double-blind, randomized, crossover trials, eight healthy volunteers inhaled 30% nitrous oxide in oxygen for 35 minutes and were given flumazenil 10 minutes into the inhalation. Experiment 1 tested clinical doses of flumazenil (0, 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/70 kg), while Experiment 2 tested a supraclinical dose (0 and 5.0 mg/70 kg). Nitrous oxide increased ratings of high, drunk, and tingling and impaired psychomotor performance. Only the supraclinical flumazenil dose significantly reduced the high rating; other subjective effects showed non-significant decreases. Flumazenil did not affect nitrous oxide's psychomotor effects. The findings suggest that a high flumazenil dose may partially antagonize some subjective effects of nitrous oxide.
Drug and alcohol dependence
December 1, 1994
S Yajnik, P Thapar, J L Lichtor et al.
An experiment compared marijuana users and non-users to see if their history with cannabis affected how they responded to nitrous oxide. Participants first sampled both 40% nitrous oxide in oxygen and a placebo (100% oxygen), then chose which to inhale in later sessions. Both groups chose nitrous oxide less than half the time, and the choice patterns did not differ significantly between marijuana users and non-users. However, marijuana users reported stronger subjective effects from nitrous oxide, suggesting a history of marijuana use may intensify some of the drug's subjective experiences.
Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior
November 1, 1994
J P Zacny, D W Coalson, J L Lichtor et al.
Two double-blind, randomized experiments tested whether the opioid antagonist naloxone alters the mood-altering and performance-impairing effects of nitrous oxide. In both experiments, inhaling 30% nitrous oxide increased self-reported feelings of drug effect, carefreeness, drunkenness, sedation, and being high, and it worsened psychomotor performance. Naloxone, given intravenously at doses ranging from 0.01 to 10 mg per 70 kg, had no effects on its own and did not significantly change any of nitrous oxide's effects. The authors conclude that naloxone, at doses up to 10 mg, does not appear to influence the subjective or psychomotor effects of nitrous oxide.