Anticholinergic effects on the ciliary muscles inhibit accommodation, hence blind as a bat. Anticholinergic effects on the heart produce tachycardia. This occasionally is preceded by a bradycardia that results from anticholinergic effects in the brain stem. The CNS effects of BZ and Agent 15 make them effective incapacitants. After a latent period and following the appearance of the peripheral effects, the casualty s mental status begins to fluctuate between a relatively conscious state and frank delirium.
Level of consciousness can range from drowsiness to coma.
Disorientation to time and place, decreased social restraint with inappropriate behavior, and decreased short-term memory are common. Speech becomes slurred and indistinct. Poor coordination leads to ataxia and agraphia. Anticholinergic toxicity can produce vivid and realistic hallucinations that tend to decrease in size over time. For example, a polar bear may be replaced by a smaller animal such as a rabbit as the toxidrome clears.