Sedative effects of maprotiline and amitriptyline.

By means of critical flicker fusion measurements and subjective estimation of drowsiness, experiments with 12 healthy subjects over periods of 8 h showed that maprotiline caused less than half the amount of sedation compared to amitriptyline, both drugs given in single doses of 50 mg. The experiments were blind, randomized and placebo controlled. Implications for clinical use are discussed.