Psychopharmacology - terms for final exam

Kandel

Studied Aplysia and demonstrated that learning produces biological changes in neurons

Chemical straightjacket

Criticism that psychiatric medications suppress rather than treat symptoms

Drug meanings

Different patients attach different personal meanings to taking medication, affecting adherence

Ligand

Any molecule that binds to a receptor

Dendritic spines

Small projections on dendrites where synapses commonly form

Three brain levels

Brainstem, core (limbic system), cortex

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

Controls involuntary body functions

Sympathetic nervous system

Fight-or-flight response

Parasympathetic nervous system

Rest-and-digest response

Interaction effects

Effects that occur when multiple drugs are taken together

Role of cortisol in depression

Chronic elevation damages the hippocampus and contributes to depression

Treatment cycle

Acute treatment → continuation → maintenance

Maintenance treatment

Continued medication after symptom remission to prevent relapse

Chaotic Attractor Theory

Bipolar disorder involves unstable mood states that become self-perpetuating

Parasthesias

Tingling or "pins and needles" sensation common in anxiety

Neurosis

Emotional conflict with intact reality testing

Psychosis

Loss of reality testing with hallucinations or delusions

Freud's realistic anxiety

Fear of real external danger (ego)

Freud's moral anxiety

Guilt or shame from the superego

Freud's neurotic (id) anxiety

Fear that unacceptable impulses from the id will get out of control

Dementia praecox

Kraepelin's original term for schizophrenia

Thought insertion

Belief that outside forces place thoughts into one's mind

Five types of delusions

Erotomanic, grandiose, jealous, persecutory, somatic

EPS management

Cogentin (benztropine), Artane, Benadryl, propranolol (for akathisia)

Tardive dyskinesia management

Reduce/change antipsychotic, consider atypical antipsychotic, VMAT2 inhibitor

High-potency antipsychotics

High EPS risk, low sedation

Low-potency antipsychotics

Low EPS risk, high sedation and anticholinergic effects

Special concern in the elderly

Increased medication sensitivity, slower metabolism, greater risk of adverse effects

Vitamin D3

May be used as an adjunct in depression; evidence is mixed

Homeopathic medicine

Uses highly diluted substances; evidence for psychiatric effectiveness is limited