1. What does anterograde amnesia mean and which drugs can cause this effect?

• Being unable to remember events which occur during the drug's duration of action.
• Drugs which can cause this effect are benzodiazepines.

2. Name the effects of the sedative-hypnotic drugs on the normal sleep pattern and explain their significance to the patient.

• BDs has a small decreasing effect on REM sleep and in high dosages the decrease REM sleep.
• BDs also increase the duration of phase 2 NREM sleep and decrease the duration of phase 4 NREM sleep. 
• Zolpidem also decreases REM sleep but has minimal effect on SWS.
• The significance on these drugs to the patients it is to help with reducing time to fall asleep and to increase total sleep duration only in patients who normally sleep less than 6 hours every night.

3. Which of the sedative-hypnotic drugs are used as a supplementary therapy in anesthesia? Can you explain why?

• Barbiturates and BDs such as midazolam, diazepam and lorazepam. 

 4. Which of the sedative-hypnotic drugs are used as anticonvulsants?

• High doses of barbiturates and certain BDs ( diazepam, lorazepam in Status epilepticus). 
• Other drugs such as phenobarbitone, clonazepam, clobazam have selective anticonvulsive effects.

5. What is the mechanism of muscle-relaxing effects of some of the carbamates and the BDs?

• They inhibit polysynaptic reflexes. They block impulses from motor neuron endings to skeletal muscle. 

6. Discuss the effects of the sedative-hypnotic drugs on the respiratory and cardiovascular system. 

• Sedative-hypnotics can cause significant respiratory depression more especially in patients with pulmonary disease and as well as cardiovascular depression in patients with cardiovascular disease.
• These effects are usually marked with IV administration.
• High doses can cause death due to the depression of the medullary respiratory center. 
• These effects are accompanied by difficulty in breathing or obstruction in airway, lung failure, or decrease in heart rate and cardiac contractility and consequently heart failure.