Psychopharmacology Lecture Notes

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the definitions of drugs, drug scheduling, clinical trial phases, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and specific neurotransmitter systems from the Psychopharmacology lecture.

Drug (Write & Montag, 1949)

A substance or mixture of substances found by animal experimentation and clinical experience to be of clear therapeutic value for treating human diseases.

Psychopharmacology

The study of drugs that affect the nervous system and behavior.

Schedule I Drugs

Drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, such as Heroin, LSD, and ecstasy.

Schedule II Drugs

Drugs with a high potential for abuse potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence, such as Cocaine, Methamphetamine, and Fentanyl.

Schedule III Drugs

Drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence, such as Ketamine, anabolic steroids, and Vicodin.

Schedule IV Drugs

Drugs with a low potential for abuse and low risk of dependence, such as Xanax, Valium, and Ambien.

Schedule V Drugs

Drugs with the lowest potential for abuse, such as cough preparations with less than $200\,mg$ of codeine per $100\,ml$ (Robitussin AC).

Clinical Trial Phase I

A study focused on human safety, involving tens of participants and lasting days or weeks.

Pharmacokinetics

The study of the time course of drug action in the body, involving the processes of Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Elimination (ADME).

Pharmacodynamics

The study of the effect a drug has when it binds to its target.

Enteral Administration

Drug administration through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, including oral and rectal routes.

Parenteral Administration

Non-GI drug administration routes including injection, inhalation, topical, and mucosal/sublingual.

Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB)

A combination of tight junctions of capillary endothelial cells and an astrocytic sheath that limits the entry of substances into the brain based on molecule size and lipid solubility.

Binding Affinity

The degree of attraction a drug has for its target; higher affinity requires a lower dose to produce an effect.

Competitive Binding

A mechanism where a drug occupies the same binding site on a receptor that a neurotransmitter normally occupies.

Noncompetitive Binding

A mechanism where a drug occupies a different binding site on a receptor than the neurotransmitter.

Placebo Effect

A therapeutic response in the absence of actual treatment, estimated to occur in $30-40\%$ of patients according to Lasagna et al. (1954).

Agonists

Neuroactive drugs that activate a receptor.

Antagonists

Neuroactive drugs that block a receptor from becoming active.

Glutamate

The main excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, associated with sodium ($Na^+$) influx and depolarization.

GABA

The main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, associated with chloride ($Cl^-$) influx and hyperpolarization.

Seizure

An acute electrical disturbance in the brain producing excessive synchronous activity, caused by an imbalance where excitation ($E$) is greater than inhibition ($I$).

Epilepsy

A condition defined as recurring, unprovoked seizures.

Partial Seizure

Seizure activity that originates in one part of the brain.

Generalized Seizure

Seizure activity that involves the entire brain.

Dopamine

A neuromodulator involved in voluntary movement, attention, learning, and reinforcement; loss of this is associated with Parkinson's disease.

Norepinephrine

A neuromodulator involved in vigilance and arousal; its agonists (like amphetamine) are used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy.

Serotonin (5-HT)

A neuromodulator involved in mood regulation, eating, sleep, and dreaming.

SSRI

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor; a drug that blocks the reabsorption of serotonin into the presynaptic nerve to treat depression.

Next-generation Antipsychotic (Cobenfy™)

A combination of Xanomeline and trospium chloride that targets acetylcholine receptors for memory and cognition without affecting dopamine or motor function.