Overview of Psychotropic Drugs
A psychotropic drug is any medication that has an effect on psychic function,
behavior, or experience and can include wide variety of pharmacological agents.
The medications discussed in this website include the following:
- Antipsychotic drugs
- Antiparkinsonian drugs
- Antidepressant drugs
- Antianxiety drugs
- Mood stabilizers
The chemical actions of psychotropic medications are an area of intense investigation and
research. The present day hypotheses of psychotropic action focus on the effects of these
medications on neurotransmitters located in neural pathways of the central nervous system,
particularly in the brain. The neurotransmitters are naturally occurring chemical substances which serve to transmit
nerve impulses from one neuron to the next across the synaptic cleft. It is believed that there
are hundreds of different neurotransmitters involved in nerve impulse transmission.
Neurotransmission sometimes occurs with more than one neurotransmitter in a single neuron.
Naturally occurring neurotransmitters can be mimicked by drugs ( i.e. valium). Some drugs also
stimulate receptors just like the natural neurotransmitters and are called agonists while other
drugs actually block the actions of the natural neurotransmitter at its receptor and are called
antagonists.
Generic Names
The accepted pharmacological term for a specific medication, each
medication has only one generic name and that name does not belong to any drug company,
although a company may hold the exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute the
medication under the company's brand name.
Brand Names
The name given to a generic medication by a company. If the company holds
the patent, this gives it the exclusive right to manufacture and sell the medication for a number
of years. When the patent rights expire or are sold, the generic medication usually becomes
available under additional brand names as well as generically. lt is only after the expiration or
sale of the patent rights that a savings may be realized by purchasing the medication under its
generic name. Although costs for generic medications are frequently less expensive there are
some instances where the brand name may be comparable or cheaper in price when it
becomes available as a generic medication.
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