Chapter 37. Types of Therapeutic Drugs

norepinephrine

neurotransmitter involved in arousal and mood

perception

organizing and interpreting information from the senses to understand its meaning

psychoactive drugs

chemicals that influence brain activity, leading to changes in emotions or thinking

schizophrenia

a psychological disorder characterized by disturbed, irrational thinking and inappropriate emotional behavior

serotonin

neurotransmitter involved in mood and sleep

stimulants

psychoactive drugs that speed up neural activity and body functions

therapeutic drugs

drugs that are used in the treatment of psychological disorders

antianxiety drugs

drugs that calm a person and reduce stress and tension

antidepressant drugs

drugs that boost mood by increasing the availability of neurotransmitters serotonin or norepinephrine

antipsychotic drugs

drugs that reduce schizophrenic symptoms by blocking the effect of the neurotransmitter dopamine

bipolar disorder

a psychological disorder characterized by dramatic mood swings from mania to deep depression

dopamine

neurotransmitter involved in movement and motivation

mood-stabilizing drugs

drugs that reduce the dramatic mood swings of bipolar disorder

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers released by the axon terminal into the synaptic gap between neurons

Types of Therapeutic Drugs

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Learning Objectives:

Identify the major categories of therapeutic drugs.

Describe the effects and uses of each major category of therapeutic drugs.

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1. Therapeutic drugs are categorized according to the symptoms they treat. These drugs, like all psychoactive drugs, influence the activity of the brain.

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2. Antianxiety drugs slow down the activity of the brain, which makes a person feel calmer and less tense.

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3. Antidepressant drugs are not quite the opposite of antianxiety drugs, because they don't act as stimulants. Instead, they increase the availability of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine, thus boosting the person's mood.

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4. Most antipsychotic drugs block the action of the neurotransmitter dopamine in order to reduce the major symptoms of schizophrenia, such as distortions in perception and thinking.

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The figure is a graph with three lines running horizontally. The line across the top of the graph is labeled Mania. The line through the middle of the graph is labeled Normal Mood. The line across the bottom of the graph is labeled Depression. Mood swings are evident in a blue line on the graph. The blue line starts out at a normal mood, raises sharply to mania, returns to normal mood, and then rises slightly and falls again in a reduced manic episode. The blue line then dips sharply down to depression and returns to normal before it dips slightly again in a reduced depressive episode.

5. Finally, mood-stabilizing drugs are used to reduce the dramatic mood swings of bipolar disorder.

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Practice: Therapeutic Drug Effects

Roll over each photo to see what type of drug would be used to treat this symptom.

There are four images on the screen. The first image is a man with his hands covering his face and his mouth open as if he is yelling.

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The second image is a man with his hands over his face with blood on them. He also has a frog sitting on his head and clouds around his head.

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The third image is a woman with her head resting in her left hand. She is frowning and looks sad.

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The last image is a woman with her head in her hands.

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Anxiety: Antianxiety drugs depress neural activity, calming the person and relieving anxiety.

Hallucinations: Antipsychotic drugs block the neurotransmitter dopamine, reducing schizophrenic symptoms.

Depression: Antidepressant drugs increase the availability of the neurotransmitters serotonin or norepinephrine, boosting mood.

Mood swings: Mood-stabilizing drugs reduce the emotional highs and lows of bipolar disorder, although researchers do not yet understand the brain mechanisms involved.

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Quiz 1

Match the terms to their descriptions by dragging each colored circle to the appropriate gray circle. When all the circles have been placed, select the CHECK ANSWER button.

Select the NEXT button and move to Quiz 2.

Perhaps you should go back to review types of drugs.

mood-stabilizing drugs

antidepressant drugs

antianxiety drugs

antipsychotic drugs

increase the availability of the neurotransmitters serotonin or norepinephrine

depress neural activity, calming the person

block the neurotransmitter dopamine

reduce the emotional highs and lows of bipolar disorder

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Quiz 2

Drag the appropriate term for a type of drug to the gray area in front of each scenario. When all the drug types have been placed, select the CHECK ANSWER button.

Select the NEXT button and move to the Conclusion.

Perhaps you should go back to review types of drugs.

Mood-stabilizing Drugs

Antianxiety Drugs

Antidepressant Drugs

Antipsychotic Drugs

A domestic-abuse survivor has panic-attack symptoms several times a week

A student is failing all his classes because he is sinking into a negative and hopeless mood

A sales manager recently was fired for his unpredictable behavior, which varied month by month between energetic optimism and mild depression

A young mother stopped feeding her children because she saw mermaids bringing them food every day

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