acetycholine

The chemical compound (often abbreviated ACh) is a neurotransmitter in both the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS) in many organisms including humans.

~ is one of many neurotransmitters in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the only neurotransmitter used in the motor division of the somatic nervous system.

antagonists

A receptor antagonist is a type of receptor ligand or drug that does not provoke a biological response itself upon binding to a receptor, but blocks or dampens agonist-mediated responses.

In pharmacology, antagonists have affinity but no efficacy for their cognate receptors, and binding will disrupt the interaction and inhibit the function of an agonist or inverse agonist at receptors. Antagonists mediate their effects by binding to the active site or to allosteric sites on receptors, or they may interact at unique binding sites not normally involved in the biological regulation of the receptor's activity.

Antagonist activity may be reversible or irreversible depending on the longevity of the antagonist–receptor complex, which, in turn, depends on the nature of antagonist receptor binding. The majority of drug antagonists achieve their potency by competing with endogenous ligands or substrates at structurally-defined binding sites on receptors.

antianxiety

<or>

anxiolytic

drugs

Antianxiety drugs are medicines that calm and relax people with excessiveanxiety, nervousness, or tension, or for short-term control of social phobia  disorder or specific phobia disorder.

Anxiolytic drugs are drugs having anti-anxiety effects. They are sometimes referred to as minor tranquilizers.

anticholinesterase

drugs

any of several drugs that prevent destruction of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase within the nervous system.

example:

Neostigmine

Physostigmine

atypical

antipsychotic

drugs

atypical

<or>

novel

antidepressants

Atypical antidepressants may be prescribed when SSRIs or TCAs have not worked.

Atypical antidepressants include bupropion (Wellbutrin, Wellbutrin SR, Wellbutrin XL), duloxetine (Cymbalta), maprotiline (Ludiomil), mirtazapine (Remeron), nefazodone (Serzone), trazodone (Desyrel), and venlafaxine (Effexor).

circadian

rhythms

A circadian rhythm is a roughly-24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes of living entities, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria (see bacterial circadian rhythms).

The term "circadian", coined by Franz Halberg, comes from the Latin circa, "around," and diem or dies, "day", meaning literally "approximately one day." The formal study of biological temporal rhythms such as daily, tidal, weekly, seasonal, and annual rhythms, is called chronobiology.

ý-aminobutyric acid

( GABA )

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid  is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system.

It plays an important role in regulating neuronalnervous system. In humans, GABA is also directly responsible for the regulation of muscle tone.  

Drugs that act as agonists of GABA receptorsGABAergic drugs) or increase the available amount of GABA typically have relaxing, anti-anxiety and anti-convulsive effects. .

hypnotic

Hypnotic  drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia.

Because drugs in this class generally produce dose-dependent effects, ranging from anxiolysis to production of unconsciousness, they are often referred to collectively as sedative-hypnotic drugs.

• Barbiturates
• Opioids
• Benzodiazepines

lithium

Lithium salts such as lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃), lithium citrate, and lithium orotate are mood stabilizers. They are used in the treatment of bipolar disorder since, unlike most other mood altering drugs, they counteract both mania and depression.

Lithium can also be used to augment antidepressants. Because of Lithium's nephrogenic diabetes insipidus effects, it can be used to help treat the syndrome of inappropriate diuretic hormone (SIADH). It was also sometimes prescribed as a preventive treatment for migrainecluster headaches. 

mood-stabilizing drug

A mood stabilizer is a psychiatric medication used to treat mood disorders characterized by intense and sustained mood shifts, which is not the same as "feeling good one minute and then bad the next."

Many agents described as "mood stabilizers" are also categorized as anticonvulsants, with the exception of Lithium, the oldest known mood stabilizer.

monoamine oxidase

(MAO)

Monoamine oxidases (singular abbreviation MAO)  are enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of monoamines.

monoamine oxidase inhibitors

( MAOI )

--Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are a class of powerful antidepressant drugs prescribed for the treatment of depression.

--They are particularly effective in treating atypical depression, and have also shown efficacysmoking cessation. in

--Due to potentially lethal dietary and drug interactions, MAOIs had been reserved as a last line of defense, used only when other classes of antidepressant drugs  have failed.

--can lead to hypertensive crisis, when foods containing tyramine are consumed

pharmacodynamics

Pharmacodynamics is the study of the physiological effects of drugs on the body or on microorganisms or parasites within or on the body and the mechanisms of drug action and the relationship between drug concentration and effect.

pharmacokinetics

Pharmacokinetics includes the study of the mechanisms of absorption and distribution of an administered drug, the rate at which a drug action begins and the duration of the effect, the chemical changes of the substance in the body (e.g. by enzymes) and the effects and routes of excretion of the metabolites of the drug.

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

(  SSRIs )

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor(SSRIs) are a class of compounds typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and some personality disorders.

They are also typically effective and used in treating premature ejaculation problems as well as some cases of insomnia.

first-generation antipsychotic drugs

First generation antipsychotic drugs include Haldol, Thorazine, Mellaril, Prolixin and Navane. They are thought to work by blocking the effect of certaindopamine receptors (chemicals) in the central nervous system.

therapeutic index

The therapeutic index (also known as therapeutic ratio), is a comparison of the amount of a therapeutic agent that causes the therapeutic effect to the amount that causes death. Quantitatively, it is the ratio given by the lethal dose divided by the therapeutic dose.

standard

<or>

typical

antidepressants