Psychopharmacology

Psychotropic drugs work by modifying neuro transmission processes-the chemical and electrical communication systems between nerve cells. Humans are thought to have 50-100 neuro transmitters, but only a few such as dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, gama amenobutyric acid and glutamate are known to have direct relevance to psychotropic medications. the drugs can be roughly classified into 5 categories :

1. antipsychotic medications
2. anti depressant medications
3. mood stabilizing drugs
4. anti anxiety medications
5. psychostimulants

Antipsychotic medications can further be classified into conventional antipsychotics which include chlorpromazine (trade name : thorazine) , haloperidol (haldol), fluphenazine (prolixin) which has higher potency and adverse effects on neuro transmitters. the drugs are considered to have greater impact on positive symptoms like hallucinations, agitation, bizarre behavior than negative symptoms like flat affect, withdrawal and poverty of thoughts. The new type of atypical antipsychotics do not cause adverse effects as the former ones. they block activity of both serotonin and dopamine while the former blocks only dopamine. atypical medications include clozapine (clozaril), risperidone(risperdal), olanzapine(zyprexa) and quetiapine (seroquel). they may have some therapeutic effect on some negative and positive symptoms.

Anti depressant medications are classified into three types, the MAO inhibitors, cyclics and serotonin specific drugs. these drugs must be taken continuously before expecting a positive change since they experience resistance from the site where action takes place. all these drugs also have anti anxiety effects. the notable antidepressant medication includes phenelzine (nardil) and tranylcypropine (parnate) which are not prescribed frequently due to strict diet observation to be followed to avoid adverse effects of drug. common cyclic anti depressant include imipramine (tofranil), amilriptyline (elavil), nortriptyline (pamelor), dexepin (sinequan). the newest anti depressants are the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as fluoxetine (prozac) , citaprolam (celexa), paroxetine (paxil), vanlafaxine (effexor) and sertraline (zoloft). fluvoxamine (luvox) ios predominantly used to treat OCD.

Mood stabilizinf drugs 
Lithium carbonate is the primary drug treatment for bipolar disorder. monitoring blood levels is essential in using this drug. lithium has a low therapeutic effect  and adverse reactions such as muscle tremor and kidney damage can occur at blood levels slightly higher than the therapeutic levels.
certain antiseizure medication such as valporate (depakote) and carbamazepine (tegretol) also act as effective mood stabilizer.

Anti anxiety medication
benzodiazepines constitute the largest class of anti anxiety drugs. they achieve their therapeutic effect by working on the GABA neurotransmitter. they are quickly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and has addictive effects with continuous use.  examples of benzodiazepines are chlordiazepoxide (librium), diazepam (valium), alprozolam (xanax),clonazepam (klonopin) and l;orazepam (ativan). Buspirone (buspar) is a widely used anti anxiety drug which takes several weeks to take effect.

Psychostimulants 
Stimulants are used to treat ADHD. has higher abuse potential. therefore prescription by phone and writing of refills are not allowed. moderate dosage of the drug improves attention, concentration and improved cognitive functioning while higher dosage has common adverse effects such as agitation and insomnia. methylphenidate (ritalin) is the most widely used psychostimulant, pemoline (cylert) and amphetamine (adderall, desoxyn, dexedrine) is a lesser used medication which has very high potential for abuse.

Reference : Social Workers desk reference
http://socialworksdigitaldivide.blogspot.com/2012/09/pharmacology-and-social-worker.html