FORM 4 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * Purcell Richard David Jr.   2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol RespireRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. [RSPI] 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) SVP - Research and Development (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O RESPIRERX PHARMACUETICALS INC., 126 VALLEY ROAD, SUITE C 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year) 12/09/2017 (Street) GLEN ROCK, NJ 07452 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price

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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)

2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security

3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)

3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)

4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)

5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4, and 5)

6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)

7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4)

8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)

9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)

10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)

11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)

Code

V

(A)

(D)

Date Exercisable

Expiration Date

Title

Amount or Number of Shares

Common Stock Options (to purchase shares of Common Stock)

$ 1.45

12/09/2017

A

100,000

(1)

12/09/2022

Common Stock

100,000

$ 0

100,000

D

Common Stock Options (to purchase shares of Common Stock)

$ 2

(1)

06/30/2017

Common Stock

40,000

40,000

D

Common Stock Options (to purchase shares of Common Stock)

$ 3.9

(2)

01/17/2022

Common Stock

40,000

40,000

D

Common Stock Options (to purchase shares of Common Stock)

$ 7.3775 (3)

(4)

03/31/2021

Common Stock

61,539 (3)

61,539 (3)

D

Common Stock Options (to purchase shares of Common Stock)

$ 6.396 (3)

(5)

08/18/2022

Common Stock

9,231 (3)

9,231 (3)

D

Common Stock Options (to purchase shares of Common Stock)

$ 8.125 (3)

(6)

06/30/2022

Common Stock

6,154 (3)

6,154 (3)

D

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Purcell Richard David Jr. C/O RESPIRERX PHARMACUETICALS INC. 126 VALLEY ROAD, SUITE C GLEN ROCK, NJ 07452			SVP - Research and Development

Signatures

/s/ Richard D. Purcell, Jr.		12/12/2017
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	These Common Stock Options vested upon issuance.
(2)	These Common Stock Options vested in three installments: 25 percent on January 18, 2017 (the grant date), 25 percent on March 31, 2017, and 50 percent on June 30, 2017, and are all currently vested.
(3)	The exercise price and number of shares of these securities have been adjusted to reflect the Company's 325-to-1 reverse stock split effective September 1, 2016.
(4)	These Common Stock Options vested in four equal installments: 25 percent on March 31, 2016 (the grant date), 25 percent on June 30, 2016, 25 percent on September 30, 2016, and 25 percent on December 31, 2016, and are all currently vested.
(5)	These Common Stock Options vested in four equal installments: 25 percent on December 31, 2015, 25 percent on March 31, 2016, 25 percent on June 30, 2016, and 25 percent on September 30, 2016, and are all currently vested.
(6)	The Common Stock Options vested in three installments: 50 percent on June 30, 2015, 25 percent on September 30, 2015, and 25 percent on December 31, 2015, and are all currently vested.

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