Marie Pickford describes some of the symptoms which may be seen with chronic use of antipsychotic drugs, the clinical effects of overdose, and various treatment options

Antipsychotic drugs (or neuroleptics) are a large class of drugs which can be divided into three groups: phenothiazine, miscellaneous and atypical (Box 1). They are used to tranquillise patients without impairing consciousness and without causing paradoxical excitement. They are often referred to as major tranquillisers but this is misleading since these drugs also relieve florid psychotic symptoms such as thought disorder, hallucinations and delusions, and prevent relapse.