A psychiatric or psychotropic medication is a psychoactive drug taken to exert an effect on the chemical makeup of the brain and nervous system. Thus, these medications are used to treat mental illnesses. These medications are typically made of synthetic chemical compounds and are usually prescribed in psychiatric settings, potentially involuntarily during commitment. Since the mid-20th century, such medications have been leading treatments for a broad range of mental disorders and have decreased the need for long-term hospitalization, thereby lowering the cost of mental health care. [1] [2] [3] [4] The recidivism or rehospitalization of the mentally ill is at a high rate in many countries, and the reasons for the relapses are under research. [5] [6] [7] [8]
Several significant psychiatric drugs were developed in the mid-20th century. In 1948, lithium was first used as a psychiatric medicine. One of the most important discoveries was chlorpromazine, an antipsychotic that was first given to a patient in 1952. In the same decade, Julius Axelrod carried out research into the interaction of neurotransmitters, which provided a foundation for the development of further drugs. [9] The popularity of these drugs have increased significantly since then, with millions prescribed annually. [10]
The introduction of these drugs brought profound changes to the treatment of mental illness. It meant that more patients could be treated without the need for confinement in a psychiatric hospital. It was one of the key reasons why many countries moved towards deinstitutionalization, closing many of these hospitals so that patients could be treated at home, in general hospitals and smaller facilities. [11] [12] Use of physical restraints such as straitjackets also declined.
As of 2013, the 10 most prescribed psychiatric drugs by number of prescriptions were alprazolam, sertraline, citalopram, fluoxetine, lorazepam, trazodone, escitalopram, duloxetine, bupropion XL, and venlafaxine XR. [13]
Psychiatric medications are prescription medications, requiring a prescription from a physician, such as a psychiatrist, or a psychiatric nurse practitioner, PMHNP, before they can be obtained. Some U.S. states and territories, following the creation of the prescriptive authority for psychologists movement, have granted prescriptive privileges to clinical psychologists who have undergone additional specialised education and training in medical psychology. [14] In addition to the familiar dosage in pill form, psychiatric medications are evolving into more novel methods of drug delivery. New technologies include transdermal, transmucosal, inhalation, suppository or depot injection supplements. [15] [16]
Psychopharmacology studies a wide range of substances with various types of psychoactive properties. The professional and commercial fields of pharmacology and psychopharmacology do not typically focus on psychedelic or recreational drugs, and so the majority of studies are conducted on psychiatric medication. While studies are conducted on all psychoactive drugs by both fields, psychopharmacology focuses on psychoactive and chemical interactions within the brain. Physicians who research psychiatric medications are psychopharmacologists, specialists in the field of psychopharmacology.
Psychiatric disorders, including depression, psychosis, and bipolar disorder, are common and gaining more acceptance in the United States. The most commonly used classes of medications for these disorders are antidepressants, antipsychotics, and lithium. Unfortunately, these medications are associated with significant neurotoxicities.
Psychiatric medications carry risk for neurotoxic adverse effects. The occurrence of neurotoxic effects can potentially reduce drug compliance. Some adverse effects can be treated symptomatically by using adjunct medications such as anticholinergics (antimuscarinics). Some rebound or withdrawal adverse effects, such as the possibility of a sudden or severe emergence or re-emergence of psychosis in antipsychotic withdrawal, may appear when the drugs are discontinued, or discontinued too rapidly. [17]
While clinical trials of psychiatric medications, like other medications, typically test medicines separately, there is a practice in psychiatry (more so than in somatic medicine) to use polypharmacy in combinations of medicines that have never been tested together in clinical trials (though all medicines involved have passed clinical trials separately). It is argued that this presents a risk of adverse effects, especially brain damage, in real-life mixed medication psychiatry that are not visible in the clinical trials of one medicine at a time (similar to mixed drug abuse causing significantly more damage than the additive effects of brain damages caused by using only one illegal drug). Outside clinical trials, there is evidence for an increase in mortality when psychiatric patients are transferred to polypharmacy with an increased number of medications being mixed. [18] [19] [20]
There are five main groups of psychiatric medications.
Antidepressants are drugs used to treat clinical depression, and they are also often used for anxiety and other disorders. Most antidepressants will hinder the breakdown of serotonin, norepinephrine, and/or dopamine. A commonly used class of antidepressants are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which act on serotonin transporters in the brain to increase levels of serotonin in the synaptic cleft. [22] Another is the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), which increase both serotonin and norepinephrine. Antidepressants will often take 3–5 weeks to have a noticeable effect as the regulation of receptors in the brain adapts. There are multiple classes of antidepressants which have different mechanisms of action. Another type of antidepressant is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), which is thought to block the action of monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that breaks down serotonin and norepinephrine. MAOIs are not used as first-line treatment due to the risk of hypertensive crisis related to the consumption of foods containing the amino acid tyramine. [22]
Common antidepressants:
Antipsychotics are drugs used to treat various symptoms of psychosis, such as those caused by psychotic disorders or schizophrenia. Atypical antipsychotics are also used as mood stabilizers in the treatment of bipolar disorder, and they can augment the action of antidepressants in major depressive disorder. [22] Antipsychotics are sometimes referred to as neuroleptic drugs and some antipsychotics are branded "major tranquilizers".
There are two categories of antipsychotics: typical antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics. Most antipsychotics are available only by prescription.
Common antipsychotics:
Typical antipsychotics | Atypical antipsychotics |
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Benzodiazepines are effective as hypnotics, anxiolytics, anticonvulsants, myorelaxants and amnesics. [24] Having less proclivity for overdose and toxicity, they have widely supplanted barbiturates, although barbiturates (such as pentobarbital) are still used for euthanasia. [25] [26]
Developed in the 1950s onward, benzodiazepines were originally thought to be non-addictive at therapeutic doses, but are now known to cause withdrawal symptoms similar to barbiturates and alcohol. [27] Benzodiazepines are generally recommended for short-term use. [24]
Z-drugs are a group of drugs with effects generally similar to benzodiazepines, which are used in the treatment of insomnia.
Common benzodiazepines and z-drugs include:
Benzodiazepines | Z-drug hypnotics |
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In 1949, the Australian John Cade discovered that lithium salts could control mania, reducing the frequency and severity of manic episodes. This introduced the now popular drug lithium carbonate to the mainstream public, as well as being the first mood stabilizer to be approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Besides lithium, several anticonvulsants and atypical antipsychotics have mood stabilizing activity. The mechanism of action of mood stabilizers is not well understood.
Common non-antipsychotic mood stabilizers include:
A stimulant is a drug that stimulates the central nervous system, increasing arousal, attention and endurance. Stimulants are used in psychiatry to treat attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Because the medications can be addictive, patients with a history of drug abuse are typically monitored closely or treated with a non-stimulant.
Common stimulants:
Professionals, such as David Rosenhan, Peter Breggin, Paula Caplan, Thomas Szasz and Stuart A. Kirk sustain that psychiatry engages "in the systematic medicalization of normality". [28] More recently these concerns have come from insiders who have worked for and promoted the APA (e.g., Robert Spitzer, Allen Frances). [29] : 185
Scholars such as Cooper, Foucalt, Goffman, Deleuze and Szasz believe that pharmacological "treatment" is only a placebo effect, [30] and that administration of drugs is just a religion in disguise and ritualistic chemistry. [31] Other scholars[ who? ] have argued against psychiatric medication in that significant aspects of mental illness are related to the psyche or environmental factors, but medication works exclusively on a pharmacological basis.
Antipsychotics have been associated with decreases in brain volume over time, which may indicate a neurotoxic effect. However, untreated psychosis has also been associated with decreases in brain volume and treatments have been shown improve cognitive functioning. [32] [33] [34] [35]
Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction.
An anxiolytic is a medication or other intervention that reduces anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents which increase anxiety. Anxiolytic medications are used for the treatment of anxiety disorders and their related psychological and physical symptoms.
Antipsychotics, previously known as neuroleptics and major tranquilizers, are a class of psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis, principally in schizophrenia but also in a range of other psychotic disorders. They are also the mainstay, together with mood stabilizers, in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Moreover, they are also used as adjuncts in the treatment of treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are a class of drugs that inhibit the activity of one or both monoamine oxidase enzymes: monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B). They are best known as effective antidepressants, especially for treatment-resistant depression and atypical depression. They are also used to treat panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, Parkinson's disease, and several other disorders.
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are a class of medications that are used primarily as antidepressants. TCAs were discovered in the early 1950s and were marketed later in the decade. They are named after their chemical structure, which contains three rings of atoms. Tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs), which contain four rings of atoms, are a closely related group of antidepressant compounds.
Psychopharmacology is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on mood, sensation, thinking, behavior, judgment and evaluation, and memory. It is distinguished from neuropsychopharmacology, which emphasizes the correlation between drug-induced changes in the functioning of cells in the nervous system and changes in consciousness and behavior.
Akathisia is a movement disorder characterized by a subjective feeling of inner restlessness accompanied by mental distress and/or an inability to sit still. Usually, the legs are most prominently affected. Those affected may fidget, rock back and forth, or pace, while some may just have an uneasy feeling in their body. The most severe cases may result in poor adherence to medications, exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms, and, because of this, aggression, violence, and/or suicidal thoughts. Akathisia is also associated with threatening behaviour and physical aggression in mentally disordered patients. However, the attempts to find potential links between akathisia and emerging suicidal or homicidal behaviour were not systematic and were mostly based on a limited number of case reports and small case series. Apart from these few low-quality studies, there is another more recent and better quality study that concludes akathisia cannot be reliably linked to the presence of suicidal behaviour in patients treated with antipsychotic medication.
Serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are a class of antidepressant medications used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorders, social phobia, chronic neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), and menopausal symptoms. Off-label uses include treatments for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), and migraine prevention. SNRIs are monoamine reuptake inhibitors; specifically, they inhibit the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters are thought to play an important role in mood regulation. SNRIs can be contrasted with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (NRIs), which act upon single neurotransmitters.
Imipramine, sold under the brand name Tofranil, among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) mainly used in the treatment of depression. It is also effective in treating anxiety and panic disorder. Imipramine is taken by mouth.
Biological psychiatry or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological function of the nervous system. It is interdisciplinary in its approach and draws on sciences such as neuroscience, psychopharmacology, biochemistry, genetics, epigenetics and physiology to investigate the biological bases of behavior and psychopathology. Biopsychiatry is the branch of medicine which deals with the study of the biological function of the nervous system in mental disorders.
Isocarboxazid is a non-selective, irreversible monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) of the hydrazine class used as an antidepressant. Along with phenelzine and tranylcypromine, it is one of only three classical MAOIs still available for clinical use in the treatment of psychiatric disorders in the United States, though it is not as commonly employed in comparison to the others.
Trimipramine, sold under the brand name Surmontil among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) which is used to treat depression. It has also been used for its sedative, anxiolytic, and weak antipsychotic effects in the treatment of insomnia, anxiety disorders, and psychosis, respectively. The drug is described as an atypical or "second-generation" TCA because, unlike other TCAs, it seems to be a fairly weak monoamine reuptake inhibitor. Similarly to other TCAs, however, trimipramine does have antihistamine, antiserotonergic, antiadrenergic, antidopaminergic, and anticholinergic activities.
Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome, also called antidepressant withdrawal syndrome, is a condition that can occur following the interruption, reduction, or discontinuation of antidepressant medication following its continuous use of at least a month. The symptoms may include flu-like symptoms, trouble sleeping, nausea, poor balance, sensory changes, akathisia, intrusive thoughts, depersonalization and derealization, mania, anxiety, and depression. The problem usually begins within three days and may last for several weeks or months. Psychosis may rarely occur.
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is major depressive disorder in which an affected person does not respond adequately to at least two different antidepressant medications at an adequate dose and for an adequate duration. Inadequate response has most commonly been defined as less than 25% reduction in depressive symptoms following treatment with an antidepressant. Many clinicians and researchers question the construct validity and clinical utility of treatment-resistant depression as currently conceptualized.
Mental disorders are classified as a psychological condition marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, and emotions to seriously impair the normal psychological and often social functioning of the individual. Individuals diagnosed with certain mental disorders can be unable to function normally in society. Mental disorders may consist of several affective, behavioral, cognitive and perceptual components. The acknowledgement and understanding of mental health conditions has changed over time and across cultures. There are still variations in the definition, classification, and treatment of mental disorders.
Psychoneuroendocrinology is the clinical study of hormone fluctuations and their relationship to human behavior. It may be viewed from the perspective of psychiatry, where in certain mood disorders, there are associated neuroendocrine or hormonal changes affecting the brain. It may also be viewed from the perspective of endocrinology, where certain endocrine disorders can be associated with negative health outcomes and psychiatric illness. Brain dysfunctions associated with the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis HPA axis can affect the endocrine system, which in turn can result in physiological and psychological symptoms. This complex blend of psychiatry, psychology, neurology, biochemistry, and endocrinology is needed to comprehensively understand and treat symptoms related to the brain, endocrine system (hormones), and psychological health..
In applied psychology, interventions are actions performed to bring about change in people. A wide range of intervention strategies exist and they are directed towards various types of issues. Most generally, it means any activities used to modify behavior, emotional state, or feelings. Psychological interventions have many different applications and the most common use is for the treatment of mental disorders, most commonly using psychotherapy. The ultimate goal behind these interventions is not only to alleviate symptoms but also to target the root cause of mental disorders.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions.
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