Effects of tizanidine, a centrally acting muscle relaxant, on motor systems.

Effects of tizanidine were studied with special reference to the effect on motor systems. The drug effectively reduced the intercollicular decerebrate rigidity and gamma-activity indirectly recorded from muscle spindle afferent discharges without showing the direct inhibitory effect on muscle spindles in rats. The drug dose-dependently inhibited the phasic responses of alpha-rigidity in anemic decerebrate rats without showing marked inhibition of the tonic response. Tizanidine effectively depressed the crossed extensor reflex in chicks and depressed mono- and polysynaptic reflex potentials in rats; dorsal root reflex was increased transiently. Tizanidine had no effect on the neuromuscular junction in rats and [3H]diazepam binding in rat brain membrane. It is suggested that the depression by tizanidine of gamma-system and spinal reflexes contribute to muscle relaxation and anti-spastic effects and that mechanisms of action are different from those of other centrally acting muscle relaxants such as mephenesin and benzodiazepines.