ICL 8.3: Psychopharmacology of Antipsychotic Medications Flashcards
what treatments have been used throughout history to treat psychosis?
- tranquilizers
- neuroleptics
- ataractics
- anti-schizophrenic agnes
- antipsychotics; typical and atypical
- dopaminergic blocking or dopamine-serotonin antagonists
which drugs were the first drugs found to be useful as antipsychotics?
- reserpine
- chlorpromazine
reserpine is no longer used as an antipsychotic
what is the MOA of clozapine?
it was the first atypical antipsychotic
it blocked both dopamine and serotonin receptors unlike chlorpromazine which just blocked dopamine
what are the psychiatric uses of antipsychotics?
- schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders
- all psychotic disorders
- Tourette’s syndrome
- bipolar affective disorder
- unipolar depression
- agitation
what are the nonpsychiatric uses of antipsychotics?
- antiemetic (first generation antipsychotics)
- antipruritic/itching (Phenothiazines, promethazine)
- anesthesia (Droperodol)
what are the 5 dopaminergic pathways in the brain?
- mesolimbic-mesocortical pathway
- nigrostriatal pathway
- tuberoinfundibulnar pathway
- medullary-periventricular pathway
- incertohypothalamic pathway
what is the function of the mesolimbic-mesocortical pathway?
it’s a dopaminergic pathway in the brain
the mesocortical pathway is associated with working memory, motivation and emotion
mesolimbic pathway-referred to as the reward pathway of the brain (important in addiction)
what is the function of the nigrostriatal pathway?
it’s a dopaminergic pathway in the brain from the substantia nigra to the dorsal striatum
it’s associated with movement
blockade of the D2receptors in the nigrostriatal pathway is responsible for EPS (extrapyramidal symptoms)
what is the function of the tuberoinfundibulnar pathway?
it’s a dopaminergic pathway in the brain that arises in the arcuate nuclei and periventricular neurons and releases dopamine into the pituitary portal circulation
it regulates the secretion of the hormone prolactin from the anterior pituitary gland
what is the function of the medullary-periventricular pathway?
it’s a dopaminergic pathway in the brain that involves eating behavior
what is the function of the incertohypothalamic pathway?
it’s a dopaminergic pathway in the brain that forms connections from the medial zona incerta to the hypothalamus and the amygdala
it appears to regulate the anticipatory motivational phase of copulatory behavior in rats
what is the effect of antipsychotic medications on the dopaminergic pathways of the brain?
antipsychotic medications nonspecifically block dopamine everywhere in all the dopaminergic pathways in the brain
it blocks the dopamine in the mesolimbic system which is great because this reduces positive symptoms however….it also blocks dopamine in all the other dopaminergic systems which isn’t so good and leads to a lot of the side effects of antispychotic medications
what type of dopamine receptors do antipsychotics mostly block?
D2
what are the 2 groups of dopamine receptors?
D2-like = D2, D3, D4 –> these all decrease cAMP
D1 like = D1, D5 –> these increase cAMP
where are D2 receptors found?
- caudate-putamen
- nucleus accumbens
- olfactory tubercle
D2 receptors decrease calcium channels but open K channels
where are D3 receptors found?
- frontal cortex
- medulla
- midbrain
where are D4 receptors found?
they’re concentrated in the cortex
where are D1 receptors found?
- putamen
- nucleus accumbens
- olfactory tubercle
- cortex
where are D5 receptors found?
- hippocampus
2. hypothalamus
what is the serotonin hypothesis of psychosis?
when you use LSD which is a serotonin agonists, patients exhibited psychotic symptoms
this made researchers look for serotonin-antagonists to prevent psychosis
atypical antipsychotics work on 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2C) receptors