Chemicals and Drugs

Central Nervous System Depressants

A very loosely defined group of drugs that tend to reduce the activity of the central nervous system. The major groups included here are ethyl alcohol, anesthetics, hypnotics and sedatives, narcotics, and tranquilizing agents (antipsychotics and antianxiety agents).

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

A very loosely defined group of drugs that tend to reduce the activity of the central nervous system. The major groups included here are ethyl alcohol, anesthetics, hypnotics and sedatives, narcotics, and tranquilizing agents (antipsychotics and antianxiety agents).

MeSH Record

Classification

Broader headings

Narrower headings

Related Concepts

Knowledge Graph

Loading graph…

Drag nodes to rearrange; hover to trace links; click a node to open its page.

MeSH Record

Synonyms

2 entry terms
  • CNS Depressants
  • Depressants, CNS

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

24 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings administration & dosage, adverse effects, agonists, analysis, antagonists & inhibitors, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemical synthesis, chemistry, classification, economics, history, immunology, isolation & purification, metabolism, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, poisoning, radiation effects, standards, supply & distribution, therapeutic use, toxicity, urine.

MeSH Record

Indexing Annotation

general or unspecified; prefer specifics

MeSH Record

History Note

79; was NON MESH before 1979

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

  1. D27.505.696.277w
  2. D27.505.954.427.210w

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Central Nervous System Depressants. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D002492. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D002492
  2. Central Nervous System Depressants. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressant
  3. Central Nervous System Depressants. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1976211