Description: Neuroscience Perspectives provides multidisciplinary reviews of topics in one of the most diverse and rapidly changing fields in the life sciences. Whether you are a new recruit to neuroscience, or an established expert, look to this series for 'one-stop' sources of the historical, physiological, pharmacological, biochemical, molecular biological and therapeutic aspects of chosen research areas. Over the past 40 years, the effectiveness of conventional neuroleptic agents for psychotic illness has been offset by a wide range of adverse side-effects, including movement disorders like parkinsonism and akathisia; although, in many cases, these can be minimised by titration to the minimum effective dose. However, the introduction of the atypical neuroleptic, clozapine, with a lower liability for motor side-effects, and efficacy for both positive and negative symptoms in patients unresponsive to conventional neuroleptics raised expectations of effective medication with fewer adverse effects. Further, with the identification and characterization of multiple dopamine receptors, the possibility of more selective drugs with an inherently better side-effect potential has arisen. This volume covers both the basic science of neuroleptic drugs and their clinical use. The pharmacology of the conventional and atypical drugs is reviewed, as well as the pharmacokinetics, effects on neuronal and synaptic structure and the contribution of brain imaging techniques to our understanding of the effects of antipsychotic drugs on brain function. The clinical indications for these agents are discussed, as well as their use in both acute and maintenance therapy in psychotic illness. The advantages anddisadvantages of depot preparations and the broad range of potential side-effects are also considered.

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