This text introduces students to the field of psychopharmacology, with special emphasis on the relationships between drugs, their mechanisms of action in the nervous system, and human behavior.
By examining human drug use from historical, societal, and biological perspectives, Grilly provides a rich foundation for understanding drugs affecting the brain and their usage. In addition to describing basic pharmacological principles, Grilly discusses the general factors behind drug tolerance, dependence, and abuse as well as approaches for dealing with these problems. Pharmacotherapy for the major mental disorders is described from both biochemical and clinical efficacy perspectives. By using the most up-to-date research and by presenting data in concise, jargon-free prose, the author has created one of the most comprehensive and accessible books on the subject.
Information is organized from the general to the specific, beginning with a historical perspective and subsequently moving through coverage of basic pharmacological principles and processes, drug classifications, and approaches to drug tolerance, dependence and abuse. Grilly then describes the psychological and behavioral effects of specific psychotropic drugs used recreationally and therapeutically, with coverage of their pharmacokinetics, mechanisms of action, common side effects, and current issues regarding their uses.
Table of Contents:
Preface.
1. Psychopharmacology in Perspective.
A Historical Overview of Psychopharmacology.
Predecessors to Modern Pharmacotherapies.
The Psychopharmacological Revolution.
Recreational and Social Drug Use.
Websites for Further Information.
2. Basic Principles of Pharmacology.
Drugs and Receptors.
Dose-Response Relationships.
Drug Interactions.
Websites for Further Information.
3. Pharmacokinetics.
Drug Absorption.
Routes of Administration.
Drug Distribution.
Metabolism.
Drug Excretion.
Implications of Pharmacokinetics in the Fetus and Neonate.
Websites for Further Information.
4. Conduction and Neurotransmission.
The Neuron.
Conduction.
Neurotransmission.
Synaptic Neurotransmission.
Auto receptors and Presynaptic Receptors.
Nonsynaptic Diffusion Neurotransmission.
Retrograde Neurotransmission.
A Perspective on Neurotransmission.
Websites for Further Information.
5. Neuroactive Ligands and the Nervous System.
Neurotransmitters, Neuromodulators, and Neurohormones.
Specific Neurotransmitters.
Neurotransmitters and Diet.
Structures and Subsystems of the Nervous System.
Peripheral Nervous System.
Central Nervous System.
Drugs, the Nervous System, and Behavior: A Perspective.
Websites for Further Information.
6. Tolerance and Dependence.
What Is Tolerance?
Tolerance Mechanisms.
Mechanisms of Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Tolerance.
Mechanisms of Context-Specific Tolerance.
What Is Dependence?
Factors in Dependence.
General Factors in Treatment for Drug Dependency.
State-Dependent Learning.
Websites for Further Information.
7. Psychotropic Drug Classification.
Molecular Structure-Activity Relationships.
Depressant versus Stimulant Classifications.
Drug Use Classification.
Schedule-Controlled Drugs.
Websites for Further Information.
8. Sedative-Hypnotics and Anxiolytics.
Alcohol (Ethanol).
Psychological Effects of Ethanol.
Ethanol Pharmacokinetics.
Ethanol Pharmacodynamics.
Chronic Effects of Alcohol Use.
Beneficial Effects of Alcohol.
Tolerance, Dependence, and Alcoholism.
What is Alcoholism?
Etiology of Alcoholism.
Treatment of Alcoholism.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Barbiturates and Other Sedative-Hypnotics.
Inhalants: Anesthetic Gases and Solvents.
Anxiolytics.
Anxiety Disorders Treated With Anxiolytics.
Benzodiazepines.
Buspirone.
Antidepressants as Anxiolytics.
Kava: An Herbal Anxiolytic?
Sedative-Hypnotics and Insomnia.
Websites for Further Information.
9. Psychostimulants.
Caffeine.
Amphetamines and Related Drugs.
Psychological Effects of Amphetamines.
Clinical Uses for Amphetamines.
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Amphetamines.
Dependence on Amphetamines.
Effects of Chronic Amphetamine Exposure.
Cocaine.
Psychological Effects of Cocaine.
Pharmacokinetics of Cocaine.
Pharmacodynamics of Cocaine.
Cocaine Dependence.
Direct Adverse Consequences of Cocaine.
Treatment of Cocaine and Amphetamine Abuse.
Nicotine.
Pemoline.
Modafinil.
Psychostimulants, Learning, and Memory.
Websites for Further Information.
10. Opioids (Narcotics) and Their Antagonists.
Endogenous Opioid Peptides and Their Receptors.
Typical Opiates.
Behavioral and Physiological Effects of Opiates.
Opioid Pharmacodynamics.
Tolerance and Dependence on Opiates.
Treatment for Opiate Dependence.
The "Overdose" Phenomenon.
Legal Factors in the Narcotics Problem.
Opiate Antagonists: Potential Uses.
Websites for Further Information.
11. Psychotomimetics, Psychedelics, and Hallucinogens.
Some General Characteristics of P/P/Hs.
Monoamine-Related P/P/Hs.
LSD’s Historical Significance.
Pharmacodynamics of LSD and Related Compounds.
Psychological Effects of Monoamine P/P/Hs.
MDMA (“Ecstasy”).
Cannabinoids.
Psychological Effects of Marijuana.
Cannabinoids Pharmacokinetics.
Pharmacodynamics of Delta-9-THC.
Psychopathological Effects of Marijuana.
Tolerance and Dependence on Cannabis.
Non-CNS-Related Effects of Marijuana.
Dissociative Anesthetics: Phencyclidine and Ketamine.
Pharmacodynamics and Psychological Effects of PCP.
PCP-Induced Psychosis.
Treatment for PCP Psychosis.
Ketamine.
Anticholinergics.
Effects of Anticholinergics.
Pharmacodynamics of Anticholinergics.
Ibogaine P/P/Hs: The Human Experience.
Websites for Further Information.
12. Antipsychotics.
Biochemical Hypotheses of Schizophrenia.
The Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia.
Alternatives to the Dopamine Hypothesis.
Present-Day Antipsychotics.
Conventional (Typical, First Generation) Antipsychotics.
Atypical (Second Generation) Antipsychotics.
Aripiprazole — A Third Generation Antipsychotic.
Efficacy of Antipsychotics.
Pharmacodynamics of Antipsychotics.
Antipsychotic Side Effects.
Tardive Dyskinesia.
Current Pharmacotherapy for Schizophrenia.
Websites for Further Information.
13. Antidepressants and Mood Stabilizers.
Biochemical Hypotheses of Affective Disorders.
The Monoamine Hypothesis of Mood Disorders.
The Neurotrophic Theory of Affective Disorders.
Other Potential Neurotransmitters Involved in Mood Disorders.
Pharmacotherapy for Depression.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).
Tricyclic Antidepressants.
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors.
Reversible Inhibitors of Monoamine Oxidase A (RIMAs).
Alternative Antidepressants.
Psychostimulants.
Drug Combinations in the Treatment of Depression.
A Perspective On Antidepressant Medication.
Pharmacotherapy in Mania and Bipolar Illnesses.
Lithium.
Efficacy of Lithium in Mood Disturbances.
Pharmacokinetics of Lithium.
Alternatives to Lithium in the Treatment of Bipolar Disorders.
Pharmacodynamics of Mood Stabilizers.
Nondrug Treatments for Depression.
Websites for Further Information.
14. Pharmacotherapy for Miscellaneous Mental Disorders.
Disorders in Children.
Attention Deficit Disorder.
Autistic Disorder.
Childhood Schizophrenia.
Mental Retardation.
Affective Disorders in Children and Adolescents.
Parkinson's Disease.
Tourette's Syndrome.
Epilepsy.
Geriatric Psychopharmacology.
Sexual Dysfunction.
Eating Disorders.
Websites for Further Information.
Bibliography.
Drug Name Index.
Index.
