Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior Jerrold S. Meyer, Linda F. Quenzer

"The present book grew out of a more advanced text, Principles of Neuropsychopharmacology, authored by us together with our former colleague and mentor, Robert S. Feldman (now retired). However, Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior is much more than just a condensed and updated version of our earlier book. We has striven to engage your interest with a variety of new features, including chapter-opening vignettes, breakout boxes presenting novel or cutting-edge topics for special discussion, and many full-color photographs and illustrations depicting important concepts and experimental data. We have also used a balanced approach to convey the full breadth of our field, ranging from historical accounts of drug use, to clinical and preclinical behavioral studies, to the latest research on drug receptors and on drug effects in genetically engineered mice. Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior is divided into four sections. Chapters 1 through 4 provide extensive foundation materials, including the basic principles of pharmacology, neurophysiology and neuroanatomy, synaptic transmission, and research methods in psychopharmacology. Chapters 5 through 7 describe key features of major neurotransmitter systems, including the catecholamines, serotonin, acetylcholine, glutamate, and GABA. These are the neurotransmitters most commonly associated with psychoactive drug effects Chapters 8 through 15 discuss theories of drug addiction, with comprehensive coverage of all major substances of abuse. Chapters 16 through 18 consider the biochemical bases of psychopathology and the drugs used to treat disorders of mood, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia. There is an outline at the beginning of each chapter that shows the organization of the chapter. These outlines should be useful to instructors for determining class reading assignments and to students for identifying the major topics covered in each chapter. Although the use of psychoactive drugs is not a recent phenomenon, never before has a society become so dependent on these substances, whether for their mood altering properties in recreational settings or for the remarkable benefits they provide to so many psychiatric patients. Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior will help you understand the characteristics of psychoactive drugs, their psychological and behavioral effects, and the mechanisms by which such effects occur. We trust that you will enjoy reading the book as much as we have enjoyed writing it." From the Preface