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NeuroPsychopharmacotherapy pp 1–10Cite as

Antipsychotics/Neuroleptics: Pharmacology and Biochemistry

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Abstract

Antipsychotics are a group of drugs used to treat schizophrenia, some of which are also used to treat mood disorders and anxiety disorders. Antipsychotic drugs are sometimes referred to as neuroleptic drugs due to the neuroleptic effect of early antipsychotics. These drugs are roughly classified into first-generation antipsychotics (FGA) based on their dopamine D2 receptor-blocking action and second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) represented by a serotonin-dopamine antagonist (SDA). There is no significant difference in the therapeutic effect among antipsychotics, but side effects differ between drugs. The development of antipsychotics began with the serendipitous discovery of chlorpromazine in the 1950s and was dominated by phenothiazines and butyrophenones, which act as dopamine D2 receptor blockers, based on the dopamine hypothesis of the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, because FGA present challenges such as drug-induced extrapyramidal symptoms, hyperprolactinemia, and worsening negative symptoms, SGA focusing on actions other than D2 receptors have become the mainstay of treatment since the 1990s. In this chapter, the pharmacological action and biochemical function of antipsychotic drugs are explained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Unit of Translation Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan

    Ken Yonezawa, Sinji Kanegae & Hiroki Ozawa

Authors
  1. Ken Yonezawa
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  2. Sinji Kanegae
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  3. Hiroki Ozawa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hiroki Ozawa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept Psychiatry , Psychosomatics & Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Medical School Clinical Neurochemistry, Würzburg, Germany

    Peter Riederer

  2. Inst für Psychologische Medizin, Haag, Bayern, Germany

    Gerd Laux

  3. Fujita Health University School Medicine, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan

    Toshiharu Nagatsu

  4. Center Translational Res Neurol Diseases, Dalian Med Uni Shanghai Inst Health Sc Center Translational Res Neurol Diseases, Dalian, China

    Weidong Le

  5. Würzburg, Bayern, Germany

    Christian Riederer

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    Frank Schmidt

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Yonezawa, K., Kanegae, S., Ozawa, H. (2021). Antipsychotics/Neuroleptics: Pharmacology and Biochemistry. In: Riederer, P., Laux, G., Nagatsu, T., Le, W., Riederer, C. (eds) NeuroPsychopharmacotherapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56015-1_52-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56015-1_52-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56015-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56015-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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