Basic Principles of Pharmacology, Psychopharmacology, and Psychopharmacotherapy

Abstract

Concerning concepts and terms in human biology and medicine, the most fundamental life science underlying all of the sciences discussed in this chapter is physiology. The term derives from the Greek “physio-” meaning “nature,” and “-logia” meaning “study of.” As a basic clinical science, human physiology encompasses the physical and chemical functioning of the normal human organism, unaffected, unchanged, and uninfluenced by disease, licit or illicit substances, “xenobiotics” (foreign substances, from the Greek, “xeno-” meaning “foreign,” and “-biota “meaning “living things”), or other such entities.

A Note on References

Rather than burdening the reader with excessive and detailed references and citations in this Primer, given below are particularly useful selected references. In addition, other specific references and citations will be given in parentheses throughout the Primer. For further information and details about any topics presented and discussed in this book, the interested reader is referred not only to the following list of selected references but also to applicable textbooks, monographs, electronic databases, print articles and materials, internet sources, and other applicable resources.

Selected References

• Black DW, Andreasen NC. Introductory textbook of psychiatry. 6th ed. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.; 2014. (A solid basic textbook of psychiatry.)

• Multiple Authors. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental health disorders (DSM-5). 5th ed. American Psychiatry Association, Inc.; 2013. (This book is the controversial “bible” for primarily American and Canadian psychiatric diagnoses.)

• The comparable international work to the DSM-5 is currently the 2019 International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). 10th ed. World Health Organization. (The ICD-11 was due for adoption in 2020.)

• Frances A. Saving normal: an insider’s revolt against out-of-control psychiatric diagnosis, big pharma, and the medicalization of ordinary life. Harper Collins Publishers: 2013. (The subtitle says it all! See Chap. 4 in this Primer.)

• Ghaemi SN. Clinical psychopharmacology: principles and practice. Oxford University Press: 2019. (A scholarly, detailed, and lengthy overview of psychopharmacology, also covering social practice and research/methodologic aspects of the field.)

• Hales RE, Yudofsky ST, Roberts LW, et al., editors. The American Psychiatric Publishing textbook of psychiatry. 6th ed. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.; 2014. (A standard, detailed encyclopedic textbook tome, for reference. A seventh edition is available, copyright 2019, with updated coverage in a number of areas.)

• Harrington A. Mind fixers: psychiatry’s troubled search for the biology of mental illness. W.W. Norton and Company; 2019. (A historical and scholarly review of the topic, including some of the same topics as Saving Normal listed above.)

• Puzantian T, Carlat DJ. Medication fact book for psychiatric practice. 6th ed. Carlat Publishing, LLC; 2020. (A very useful “cookbook” for psychotropic prescribing, conveniently organized and presented for the practitioner.)

• Watters E. Crazy like us: the globalization of the American psyche. Free Press; 2010. (Psychiatric diagnostic issues similar to those in Saving Normal, with an international focus.)

• Weil A. Mind over meds: know when drugs are necessary, when alternatives are better—and when to let your body heal on its own. Little, Brown and Company; 2017. (A balanced and holistic approach to pharmacology and psychopharmacology by the popular “guru” of these fields.)

Selected Internet References

With the surfeit of internet resources, websites of all imaginable types and quality, and numerous related electronic sources of information and data, the reader, clinician, researcher, and member of the public—patient/client or not—may easily become confused about where to go and what to accept in learning psychopharmacology and psychopharmacotherapy. In this vein, a productive way to navigate the bewildering array of such sources consists of dividing them into several categories, viz.

• 1. Refereed (“peer-reviewed;” “juried”) scientific, technical, and professional journals, newsletters, and the like, including e-journals, e-newsletters, and other open-source e-publications. Selected examples include:

  • Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology (peer-reviewed independent professional journal)

  • Experimental & Clinical Psychopharmacology (peer-reviewed professional journal of the American Psychological Association)

  • Journal of Psychopharmacology (peer-reviewed professional journal of the British Association for Psychopharmacology)

  • Psychopharmacology (Berlin/Heidelberg; Springer Publications)

• 2. Government and academic/research institutions, publications and e-publications and associated websites. Selected examples include:

  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) website, affiliated institutes, programs, centers, websites, and publications (electronic and print)

  • National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) website, affiliated institutes, programs and centers, and websites and publications (electronic and print)

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) website, affiliated institutes, centers, programs and websites, and publications (electronic and print)

  • Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), affiliated programs and publications (electronic and print)

  • National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (NCASACU), programs and publications (electronic and print)

• 3. Journals, magazines, societies, and associated websites. Selected examples include:

  • Psychology Today

  • Scientific American

  • Scientific American Mind

As a practical matter, in researching particular topics electronically in psychopharmacology/psychopharmacotherapy, the logical rule—as with everything else—is to search for topic(s), keyword(s), and the like on a search engine, then to narrow the search with entries given by the search engine. An important factor to keep in mind here is the reliability, accuracy, and quality of the source: Sources from (1) and (2)—above—are considered more reliable than those in (3), generally. Those in (3), in turn, are generally considered more reliable than personal blogs, newsletters, product websites, company websites, and the like.