Psychotropic Drug and Adrenal-Pituitary Influences on Radiation-Induced Changes in Brain Electrical Activity and Behavior

Abstract

Relatively few radiation studies have utilized psychotropic drugs, and none of these studies has investigated their effects on behavior and on electrical activity of the brain. A comprehensive literature survey to November 1961 (1) and subsequent work (2-5) indicate that, although protection against irradiation has been observed under certain conditions, almost nothing is known about the mechanism of action of these drugs as protective agents. The present research considers the effects of some psychotropic drugs on electrical activity of the brain and on behavior after sublethal doses of radiation, and includes an investigation of mechanisms of action. The drugs employed in this research were phenothiazine tranquilizers and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. The extensive literature on the modification of brain electrical activity and of behavior by these drugs has been recently summarized (6-9). The influence of irradiation on EEG patterns has not been satisfactorily established. Some workers reported that distinct EEG changes occurred only after exposure to large doses of radiation. Other workers, however, demonstrated that exposure to small doses, even as low as 3 to 4 r, could produce definite alterations in the EEG. Sublethal doses of radiation appear to affect primarily emotional, as