Psychopharmacology and Antipsychotics Review

These flashcards cover key concepts and terminologies related to psychopharmacology, particularly focusing on antipsychotics and mood stabilizers.

Psychopharmacology

A subspecialty of pharmacology focused on medications affecting the brain and behavior used to treat mental disorders.

Antipsychotics

Medications used to treat disorders like schizophrenia, characterized by symptoms including hallucinations and delusions.

Positive Symptoms

Symptoms that add abnormal behaviors, such as hallucinations and delusions.

Negative Symptoms

Symptoms that subtract or diminish normal functions, such as lack of motivation and emotional blunting.

Dopamine Hypothesis

The theory that schizophrenia is caused by excess dopaminergic activity in the brain.

Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs

Medications with greater affinity for serotonin receptors compared to dopamine receptors, aimed at alleviating negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Extrapyramidal Symptoms (EPS)

Movement disorders resulting from antipsychotic treatment, including parkinsonism, akathisia, and tardive dyskinesia.

Lithium

A mood stabilizer effective in reducing the risk of suicide and controlling manic and depressive episodes in bipolar disorder.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

A class of antidepressants that block the reuptake of serotonin in the brain, used to treat depression and anxiety disorders.

Tardive Dyskinesia

Involuntary movements that can occur after long-term use of antipsychotics, often irreversible.

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS)

A potentially fatal reaction to antipsychotics characterized by muscle rigidity, hyperthermia, and autonomic instability.