Psycholeptic

{{Short description|Calming medication}}

{{Distinguish|Psychoanaleptic}}

File:Barbituric-acid-structural.svg

In pharmacology, a psycholeptic is a medication which produces a calming effect upon a person.{{cite book|editor-last1=Xu|editor-first1=Alan Q.|editor-last2=Madden|editor-first2=Timothy L.|chapter=Analysis of Illicit Drugs in Human Biological Samples by LC-MS|author1=Manuel Sergi|author2=Sabino Napoletano|title=LC-MS in drug bioanalysis|date=2012|publisher=Springer|location=New York|isbn=9781461438281|page=352|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HC3mwHLqTgwC&dq=psychoanaleptic++definition&pg=PA352|accessdate=10 January 2017|language=en}} Such medications include barbiturates, benzodiazepines, nonbenzodiazepines, phenothiazines, opiates/opioids, carbamates, ethanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, GHB, cannabinoids (in some classifications), some antidepressants, neuroleptics, and some anticonvulsants. Many herbal medicines may also be classified as psycholeptics (e.g. kava).{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

The psycholeptics are classified under N05 in the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System.