Psychopharmacology Flashcards
Agonists
Produce effects similar to those produced by a neurotransmitter
Direct vs. Indirect agonist
Direct: Mimics effect of neurotransmitter at a receptor site
Indirect: Mimics effect of neurotransmitter by attaching to a binding site on a receptor cell
Inverse agonist
Produces an effect opposite of the neurotransmitter’s effect
Partial agonist
Produces effects similar to but less than the effects of the neurotransmitter
Antagonist
Reduces or blocks effects of a neurotransmitter or agonist
Direct vs. Indirect antagonist
Direct: exerts effects by attaching to neurotransmitter’s receptor site
Indirect: exerts effects by attaching to binding site on a receptor cell
Traditional (conventional) antipsychotic drugs
Alleviates positive symptoms of schizophrenia but less effective for negative symptoms
Clozapine useful for bipolar disorder, depression, suicidality, alcohol and drug addiction, hostility, and motor symptoms of Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease
- Phenothiazine (chlorpromazine, fluphenazine)
- Thioxanthene (thiothixene)
- Butyrophenone (Haloperidol)
Atypical (novel) antipsychotics
Alleviate both positive and negative symptoms; often effective when traditional antipsychotics have failed, but they have a slower onset of effects than traditional antipsychotics
- dibenzodiazepine (clozapine)
- benzisoxazole (resperidone)
- thienobenzodiazepine (olanzapine)
- dibenzodiazepine (quetiapine)
Dopamine hypothesis
Attributes schizophrenia to over-sensitivity to dopamine or excessive dopamine levels
Antidepressants
- Tricyclics
- SSRIs
- MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors)
- NDRIs (norepinephrine dopamine reuptake inhibitors)
- SNRIs (serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors)
Catecholamine hypothesis
Depression is caused by a deficiency of norepinephrine
