5: Psychopharmacology
- Page ID
- 408285
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)This chapter was adapted from:
Barron, S. (2023). Psychopharmacology. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener (Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers. Retrieved from http://noba.to/umx6f2t8 License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 DEED
Psychopharmacology is the study of how drugs affect behavior. If a drug changes your perception or the way you feel or think, the drug exerts effects on your brain and nervous system. We call drugs that change the way you think or feel psychoactive or psychotropic drugs, and almost everyone has used a psychoactive drug at some point (yes, caffeine and alcohol count). Understanding some basics about psychopharmacology can help us better understand a wide range of things that interest psychologists and others. For example, the pharmacological treatment of certain neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, tells us something about the disease itself. The pharmacological treatments used to treat psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia or depression have undergone amazing development since the 1950s, and the drugs used to treat these disorders tell us something about what is happening in the brains of individuals with these conditions. Finally, understanding something about the actions of drugs of abuse and their routes of administration can help us understand why some psychoactive drugs are so addictive. In this chapter, we provide an overview of some of these topics and discuss some current controversial areas in psychopharmacology. The chapter concludes with some examples and animations of how drugs like alcohol, opiates, cannabis, and caffeine work at the level of neurotransmitters and synapses.
- How do the majority of psychoactive drugs work in the brain?
- How does the route of administration affect how rewarding a drug might be?
- Why is grapefruit dangerous to consume with many psychotropic medications?
- Why might individualized drug doses based on genetic screening be helpful for treating conditions like depression?
- Why is there controversy regarding pharmacotherapy for children, adolescents, and the elderly?
- 5.1: Introduction
- This page discusses psychopharmacology, highlighting its focus on the effects of drugs on brain function and behavior. It traces the historical use of mind-altering substances and explains how psychoactive drugs affect neurotransmission, particularly through key neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.
- 5.2: What Is It and Why Is It Important?
- This page covers Pharmacokinetics, detailing the body's drug processing through Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME). It highlights that the administration route affects the speed of drug onset, with oral delivery being slow and inhalation or intravenous methods being fast. Rapidly delivered drugs increase addiction risks due to quick brain stimulation.
- 5.3: Recent Issues Related to Psychotropic Drugs and Metabolism
- This page discusses the significant impact of grapefruit juice on drug metabolism by inhibiting liver enzymes, potentially leading to toxic medication levels, particularly for psychotropic drugs. It highlights the global burden of mental health issues and the complexity of antidepressant efficacy, advocating for individualized therapy based on genetic testing for drug metabolism to optimize treatment approaches.
- 5.4: Other Controversial Issues
- This page highlights the increasing prevalence of mental disorders in juveniles, referencing a CDC report on rising diagnoses such as ADHD and autism, while raising concerns about the safety of psychotropic medications primarily tested on adults. It also notes the elderly's exclusion from such trials, leading to a lack of evidence for safe prescribing in this demographic.
- 5.5: How Drugs Affect Neurotransmitters
- This page explores the impact of several drugs—alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, and opiates—on neurotransmitters and synapses. Alcohol sedates by binding to GABA and NMDA receptors and affects dopamine. Caffeine increases alertness by antagonizing adenosine receptors, leading to potential dependency. Cannabis influences mood and cognition through cannabinoid receptor interaction, also enhancing dopamine release.
- 5.6: Discussion Questions and Resources
- This page explores challenges in prescribing medications to children and adolescents, factors influencing addiction relapse, and ways to improve antidepressant prescriptions. It encourages reflection on current issues and strategies for better outcomes while providing external resources, including videos and websites, on neurotransmission, drug effects on the brain, and relevant research.
- 5.7: References
- This page offers a comprehensive bibliography on psychopharmacology and mental health, highlighting key studies on medication interactions, antidepressants, and the prevalence of psychiatric disorders. It covers research related to aging, autism spectrum disorders, and mental health statistics from reputable organizations.