Psychopharmacology of Psychiatry

Question 1

What are the 4 main methods of treatment in medicine? Give an example of each

Answer 1

Chemical (drugs and medicines)
Electrical stimulation (ECT for depression)
Structural rearrangement (surgery and orthopaedics)
Talking therapies (CBT)

Question 2

What are some of the way drugs can be classified?

Answer 2

Based on clinical structure
Based on illness they treat
Based on pharmacology

Question 3

What are the 4 targets psychiatry drugs can work on?

Answer 3

Receptors
Enzymes
Ion channels
Reuptake transporters

Question 4

What conditions are monoamine oxidase inhibitors used for?

Answer 4

Anxiety and dperession

Question 5

What conditions are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors used for?

Answer 5

Dementia

Question 6

What conditions is lithium for?

Answer 6

Ones that require mood stability

Question 7

How does lithium work?

Answer 7

Blocks glycogen synthase kinase

Question 8

What receptor is blocked for schizophrenia?

Answer 8

Dopamine

Question 9

What receptor is targeted by an antagonist for depression?

Answer 9

Serotonin

Question 10

What receptor is targeted by an antagonist for sleep?

Answer 10

Histamine

Question 11

What receptor are benzodiazepines an agonist for?

Answer 11

GABA

Question 12

What receptor does guaniface enhance and in what condition?

Answer 12

Noradrenaline in ADHD

Question 13

Citalopram blocks the reuptake of which neurotransmitter?

Answer 13

Serotonin

Question 14

Which subpart of the serotonin receptor is inhibitory?

Answer 14

5HT1a

Question 15

What subpart of the serotonin receptor do psychedelics work on?

Answer 15

5HT2

Question 16

How does sodium valporate work?

Answer 16

By blocking an ion channel for mood stabilisation and epilepsy

Question 17

What are the 2 catagories of neurotransmitters (in terms of time it takes them to work)?

Answer 17

Fast acting and slow acting

Question 18

What disorder does excess glutamate cause?

Answer 18

Epilepsy

Alcoholism

Question 19

What condition does GABA deficiency cause?

Answer 19

Anxiety

Question 20

What conditions does 5-HT deficiency cause?

Answer 20

Depression

Anxiety

Question 21

What is the serotonin receptor called?

Answer 21

5-HT

Question 22

What condition does excess dopamine cause?

Answer 22

Psychosis

Question 23

What condition does excess noradrenaline cause?

Answer 23

Nightmares

Question 24

What condition does dopamine deficiency cause?

Answer 24

Impaired memory/dementia

Question 25

What are partial agonists?

Answer 25

They have lower efficacy than full agonists, they can switch between agonist and antagonist depending on wether theres a deficiency or not

Question 26

What are inverse agonists?

Answer 26

They work in the opposite way to agonists, but they neither fully block nor activate receptors (like on/off light switches and dimmer switches)

Question 27

On the GABA-A receptor what is the role of the alpha-1 subunit?

Answer 27

Regulates inhibition from GABA inter neurones onto pyramidal cells

Question 28

On the GABA-A receptor what is the role of the alpha-2 subunit?

Answer 28

Controls output of pyramidal cells

Question 29

What will inhibition of the GABA-A receptor alpha 2 subunit cause?

Answer 29

Prevents firing of the cell

Question 30

On the GABA-A receptor what is the role of the alpha-5 subunit?

Answer 30

Dampens tonic activity in the brain

Question 31

Where is alpha 5 subunit of the GABA-A receptor most highly expressed?

Answer 31

Emotionally rich areas of the brain

Question 32

What type of receptor is GABA-A?

Answer 32

Ion channel linked

Question 33

What is the orthosteric site?

Answer 33

The site the neurotransmitter is supposed to bind to

Question 34

What site on the GABA receptor do benzodiazepines act on? How do they work?

Answer 34

They act on allosteric sites and enhance the secretion of GABA to cause sedation

Question 35

What conditions are benzodiazepines used for?

Answer 35

Helping with sleep, anxiety, epilepsy

Question 36

How selective is haloperidol? What is it used for and what does it act on?

Answer 36

It is very selective and blocks the d2 dopamine receptor, used in schizophrenia

Question 37

How selective is citalopram?

Answer 37

Very

Question 38

What are the 3 ways tricyclic amitriptyline works? Does it cause side effects?

Answer 38

Histamine blocker 5HT receptor blocker Muscarinic anticholinergic blocker It causes lots of side effects