Psychopharmacology Flashcards
What are the four types of psycho treatment?
Chemical
Electrical Stimulation
Structural rearrangement
Talking therapies
What are the examples of enzyme-targeting drugs?
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) Anxiety and depression
- Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors Dementia (Cholinergic deficiency)
- Lithium Inhibits glycogen synthase kinase for mood stability.
What are monoamine oxidase inhibitors used for?
Anxiety and depression
What are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors used for?
Dementia (cholingeric deficiency)
What is lithium used for?
Mood stability
What is the effect of lithium on mood stability?
Inhibits glycogen synthease kinase
What neurotransmitter blocker is used for schizoprehnia?
Dopamine-receptor blockers
Which neurotransmitter blocker is used for depression?
Serotonin receptor subtype antagonists
Which neurotransmitter blocker is used for sleep disorders?
Histamine receptor antagonist
What is benzodiazepines used for?
Enhances GABA for sleep disorders
What is guanfacine?
Enhances noradrenaline for ADHD
What are reuptake inhibitors?
Inhibition of reuptake transporters subsequently increases the concentration of the neurotransmitter within the synaptic cleft, thus increasing the effect exerted onto the post-synaptic receptor sites.
What is the mechanism of citalopram?
Enhances serotonin for depression and anxiety
What is the mechanism of desipramine?
Enhances noradnreline for depression
What is the mechanism of methylphendiate?
Enhances dopamine for ADHD.
What effect does amphetamines have?
Enhance the release of neurotransmitter.
What are auto-receptors in a serotoninergic synapse?
• Auto-receptors regulate the release of serotonin by monitoring the concentration of the neurotransmitter within the synaptic cleft.
Which two drugs are used for epilepsy and mood stabilisation?
- Sodium valproate
* Carbamazepine
What is the mechanism of action for sodium valproate, an ion-channel targeting drug?
Inhibiting voltage-gated sodium channels reduces the likelihood for neuronal depolarization – an action potential is downregulated.
• Prevents the process of recruiting neurons in an epileptic focus to produce a seizure.
• Drugs stabilize mood in bipolar disorder – preventing recurrent cyclical activity.
What channel does gabapentin and pregablin act upon?
Calcium channels
Which neurotransmitter is implicated in excitatory neurons?
Glutamate
Which neurotransmitter is implicated in inhibitory neurones?
GABA
Which neurotransmitter is in excess in epilepsy?
Glutamate
Which neurotransmitter is deficient in anxiety?
GABA
Which neurotransmitter is deficient in depression?
5-HT
Which neurotransmitter is in excess in psychosis?
Dopamine
Which neurotransmitter is in excess in nightmares?
Noradrenaline
Which neurotransmitter is deficient in impaired memory/dementia?
Acetylcholine
What is a partial agonist?
Have a lower max efficacy than complete agonsits
What is the advantage to using partial agonists?
They’re safer to use
What is an inverse agonist?
An inverse agonist binds to the same receptor site as that as an agonist, however, induces a pharmacological response opposite to that of the agonist.
• GABA – pro-cognitive (GABA exhibits an inhibitory effect, whereas an inverse agonist will result in excitatory activity – hippocampus for dementia),
• Histamine – increased attention – ADHD.
What are three main GABA-A receptor subtypes?
Alpha-1 receptors
Alpha-2 receptors
Alpha-5 receptors
What are Alpha-1 GABA-A receptors?
Regulate inhibition from the GABA interneurons onto the pyramidal cells.
What are alpha-2 GABA-A receptors?
Control the output of the pyramidal cells consolidated on the proximal segments (where inhibition can contain the overall activity).
What are alpha-5 GABA-A receptors?
Produce tonic activity
What is allosteric modulation?
Some drugs at on the same site as the endogenous neurotransmitter
What is the effect of activated GABA-A receptors?
- GABA binds to the GABA receptor = orthosteric site.
* Binding action enhances chloride ion conductance –> Inhibits neuron
What are positive allosteric modulators?
Benzodiazepines – barbiturates – alcohol – neurosteroids
• Drugs behave on allosteric sites on the same protein complex
• Enhance the action of GABA – sedation (Positive allosteric modulators).
