ABSTRACT
A variety of chemicals, drugs, and herbal derivatives possess anticholinergic properties defined by their ability to block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. This effect is a result of a direct interference with either of two types of cholinergic receptors—peripheral muscarinic or nicotinic receptors. Pharmacological cholinergic intervention is warranted when signs and symptoms result from moderate to severe anticholinergic toxicity. Thin-layer chromatography is suitable for qualitative toxicological screening of antihistamines. In general, antihistamines are not usually part of a forensic toxicology screening protocol, and their structural class is sufficiently different from other drugs of abuse that they do not require extensive separation and identification. Antipsychotic agents exert their actions primarily by antagonizing dopamine receptors. Varying degrees of selective dopamine blockade are seen in the cerebral limbic system and basal ganglia and along cortical dopamine tracts. Physiologically, these central pathways are associated with skeletal movement, hallucinations and delusions, psychosis, and prolactin release.
