Central nervous system active 5-oxo-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydrocinnolines.

Among a series of 5-oxo-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydrocinnolines examined for their CNS activity, 1-(2-diethylaminoethyl)-3-(p-fluorophenyl)-5-oxo-7,7-dimethyl-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydrocinnoline (23) and 1-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)-3-phenyl-5-oxo-7,7-dimethyl-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydrocinnoline (27) had sedative and anticonvulsant properties and were also acitve in tests used to characterize antidepressants. But their narrow safety margin precluded further follow-up studies. Derivatives 35-38 of 2-(omega-phenacyl)-3-hydrazino-5,5-dimethyl-2-cyclohexenone were active in tests used to characterize antidepressants and were weakly sedative but not anticonvulsant.