Abstract
The paralyzing action of salicylamide was more precisely investigated in mice and rabbits. The drug possessed a remarkable antagonistic action to the convulsive and lethal effects of strychnine and this action was apparently stronger than that of myanesin in comparison with their toxicities. The antagonistic action of salicylamide against metrazol and picrotoxin, however, was as weak as myanesin. In small doses salicylamide and myanesin had a marked depressant action on the flexor reflex of cats while the normal knee jerk was not affected. Again, at about the same doses of the drugs the multisynaptic reflex discharges were reduced without remarkable effect on the monosynaptic ones in lightly anesthetized or spinal cats. The results indicate that salicylamide as well as myanesin has a selective depressant action on the interneurons of the spinal cord. Only because of the other results, it may be supposed that the higher levels in central nervous systems should be more vulnerable to salicylamide than myanesin.
