BASICS OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY

In recent years the psychopharmacologist has paid increasing attention to the examination of brain proteins with which psychotropic drugs react, and also the molecular mechanisms that control the synthesis and cellular function of these proteins. For this reason, any understanding of psychopharmacology requires some knowledge of the basic techniques of molecular genetics. 

Electroconvulsive therapy [ECT] is one of the oldest somatic treatments in psychiatry. The emergence of the field of psychopharmacology in the 1960s eclipsed advancement in ECT practice and research. To some extent, the pendulum has swung back in the past 15 years, as there has been intensive rediscovery of the basic science of ECT and an increase in its clinical use. Contemporary research has reexamined clinical issues, such as indications for treatment, response prediction, and relapse prevention, given the changing nature of psychiatric treatment and referral patterns. At the same time, more sophisticated approaches to treatment... 

Following the introduction of ECT, much of the early research focused on basic properties of the electrical stimulus. This work was largely abandoned following the introduction of psychopharmacological treatments in psychiatry, and there was little technical progress in the administration of ECT. In the last 15 years, there has been renewed research interest in this area, which has in turn led to modifications in treatment technique. 

The previous section provided a solid foundation in the content of psychopharmacology and a basic overview of how medications work to expand our readers understanding of the range of medication options for a variety of presenting problems and populations. 

Research interest in Pb is generated at several levels. Many workers are interested in understanding and preventing adverse effects in humans. Perhaps the most hopeful area for applying the results of basic Pb research is the possible use of psychopharmacological therapies, developed in animals, to treat Pb-exposed humans, particularly children. However, beyond the human implications, many workers have become interested in the effect of Pb as a neurobiological tool for studies of CNS function (e.g., as a Ca blocker). Others have become interested in Pb because... 

Basically, the consensus was that the psychopharmacology was similar but that the compound lacked the ability to produce the kind of euphoria produced by MDMA. And he reported that there were at least one or two individuals who felt they never wanted to take the compound again. 

Le Houezec J, Benowitz NL. (1991). Basic and clinical psychopharmacology of nicotine. Clin Chest Med. 12(4) 681-99. 

Stahl SM. (1998). Basic psychopharmacology of antidepressants, part 1 antidepressants have seven distinct mechanisms of action. J Clin Psychiatry. 59(suppl 4) 5-14. 

Tobacco use is primarily due to psychopharmacological effects of nicotine (Henningfleld et al. 2006). Nicotine is a tobacco alkaloid, a basic substance that contains a cychc nitrogenous nucleus. In Nicotiana plants, most alkaloids are 3-pyridyl derivatives In cured leaf of Maryland Robinson Medium Broadleaf, 24 pyridine derivatives were identified, including nicotine, nomicotine, anabasine, oxynicotine, myosmine, 3-acetylpyridine, 2,3 -dipyridyl, iticotinamide, anatabine, nicotinic acid, and unidentified pyridine alkaloids of derivatives thereof (Tso 1990). Nicotine is the principal alkaloid in commercial tobacco (this was confirmed in 34 out of 65 Nicotiana species) nomicotine, rather than nicotine, appears to be the main alkaloid in 19 out of 65 species and anabasine is the third most important. In addition to the above-mentioned principal and minor alkaloids, the presence of many trace amounts of new alkaloids or their derivatives were frequently reported, including, for example, 2.4 -dipyridyl, 4,4 -dipyridyl, N -formylanabasine, A -formylanatabine, N -acetylanatabine, N -hexanoyl-nomicotine, N -octanoyl-nomicotine, T-(6-hydroxyoctanoyl) nomicotine, and l -(7-hydroxyoctanoyl) nor-nicotine. 

In this chapter we will focus on two basic principles of neurotransmission that may help to understand normal brain function on the one hand, and the current practice of clinical psychopharmacology on the other. First, the anatomic organization of neurotransmitter systems determines their behavioral affiliation. Second, neurotransmitter receptors modulate the electrical properties (via ion channels) or the biochemical properties (via second messenger systems) of neurons. We will then review these two basic principles for some of the neurotransmitter systems relevant to the practice of neuropsychopharmacology. 

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