Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior

Book Preface

Principles of Pharmacology 3
Pharmacology:The Science of Drug Action 4
Pharmacokinetic Factors Determining Drug Action 7
Methods of drug administration influence the onset of drug action 7
Multiple factors modify drug absorption 11
Drug distribution is limited by selective barriers 13
Depot binding alters the magnitude and duration of drug action 16
Biotransformation and elimination of drugs contributes to bioavailability 17
Pharmacodynamics: Drug-Receptor Interactions 21
Extracellular and intracellular receptors have several common features 21
Dose-response curves describe receptor activity 24
The therapeutic index calculates drug safety 25
Receptor antagonists compete with agonists for binding sites 25
Biobehavioral Effects of Chronic Drug Use 27
Repeated drug exposure can cause tolerance 27
Chronic drug use can cause sensitization 30
BOX 1.1 Herbal Medicine—Panacea or Hazard? 5
BOX 1.2 Naming Drugs 8
BOX 1.3 Drug Categories 22
Structure and Function of the Nervous System 33
Cells of the Nervous System 34
Neurons have three major external features 34
Characteristics of the cell membrane are critical for neuron function 37
Glial cells provide vital support for neurons 39
Electrical Transmission within a Neuron 40
Ion distribution is responsible for the cell’s resting potential 40
Local potentials are small, transient changes in membrane potential 42
Sufficient depolarization at the axon hillock opens voltage-gated Na+ channels, producing an action potential 43
Drugs and poisons alter axon conduction 44
Organization of the Nervous System 47
The nervous system comprises the central and peripheral divisions 48
CNS functioning is dependent on structural features 53
The CNS has six distinct regions reflecting embryological development 54
The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes, each having primary, secondary, and tertiary areas 58
BOX 2.1 Epilepsy 46
BOX 2.2 Finding Your Way in the Nervous System 49

Chemical Signaling by Neurotransmitters and Hormones 63
Chemical Signaling between Nerve Cells 64
Neurotransmitter Synthesis, Release, and
Inactivation 65
Neurotransmitters encompass several different kinds of chemical substances 65
Classical transmitters and neuropeptides are synthesized by different mechanisms 66
Chemicals that don’t act like typical neurotransmitters are sometimes called neuromodulators 67
Neurotransmitter release involves the exocytosis and recycling of synaptic vesicles 67
Several mechanisms control the rate of neurotransmitter release by nerve cells 70
Neurotransmitters are inactivated by reuptake and by enzymatic breakdown 71
Neurotransmitter Receptors and Second-Messenger Systems 72
There are two major families of neurotransmitter receptors 72
Second messengers work by activating specific protein kinases in a cell 75
Tyrosine kinase receptors mediate the effects of neurotrophic factors 76
Pharmacology of Synaptic Transmission 78
The Endocrine System 80
Endocrine glands can secrete multiple hormones 81
Mechanisms of hormone action vary 84
Why is the endocrine system important to pharmacologists? 84
BOX 3.1 Just Say NO 77
BOX 3.2 Stress, Glucocorticoids, and Psychostimulants 85