N. Bradley Keele – Psychopharmacology Update: Medications, the Brain, and Behavior

Outline

Precision Medicine in Psychiatry

• Evidence-based precision medicine and why we need it
• Biomarkers and endophenotypes in classifying and understanding mental illness
  • The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework
• The future of psychopharmacology

”Nuts and Bolts” of Psychopharmacology

• Pharmacokinetics
  • Administration, distribution, elimination mechanisms
• Pharmacodynamics
  • Receptor affinity, drug potency, & efficacy

Functional Neuroanatomy

• Prefrontal cortex and the control of subcortical circuits
• Positive & negative valence emotional systems
• The hypothalamus and control of stress hormones
• Neurotransmission: targets of psychoactive substances
  • Synthesis, release, receptors, & inactivation

Anxiolytics and Other Medications to Treat Anxiety & PTSD

• Transmitter systems implicated in anxiety
• Medications used to treat anxiety
  • Benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepines
• Pros and cons of using benzodiazepines
• Discontinuing long-term benzodiazepine use
• Medical marijuana and anxiety
• Special populations – children/adolescents, pregnancy

Antidepressant Medications

• The biological basis of major depressive disorder
  • The neurotropic hypothesis
• The major classes of antidepressant medications
  • Mechanisms of action & side effects
• The 5 newest antidepressants
• Emerging pharmacotherapies – ketamine and other psychedelics
• Medical marijuana and major depressive disorder
• How to choose an antidepressant, augmentation strategies
• The use of antidepressants in children and adolescents: a cost-benefit analysis
• Antidepressants during pregnancy

The Use of Atypical Antipsychotics in Psychosis and Bipolar Disorder

• The pathophysiology of schizophrenia
• What makes an atypical antipsychotic “atypical”?
  • Mechanism of action of atypical antipsychotics
  • Therapeutic effects and side effects
• The use of atypical antipsychotics to manage schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
• Special populations – children/adolescents, pregnancy