[Definition of the antineurotic, antipsychotic, neuroplegic and neuroleptic properties of psychotropic substances used in anesthesia and resuscitation].

There is a great deal of evidences (pharmacological, experimental and clinical, therapeutic, biological, biochemical, metabolic, toxicological and neurophysiological) which permits one to characterise among the psychotropic substances, the antineurotic or antipsychotic properties of certain psycholeptic drugs. They authorize also the differentiation in the sub-group of "antipsychotics" of substances with a dominant neuroplegic or neuroleptic activity and others, such as lithium, which do not have this activity. This revision of the terminology avoids the confusion maintained by the use of terms "tranquillisers" and "neuroleptics" in the classification of psychotropic drugs.