Klin Farmakol Farm. 2012;26(1):14-17

Psychopharmacology is now sixty

Oldřich Vinař

Samostatná psychiatrická ambulance, Praha

The introduction of modern psychotropic drugs some sixty years ago changed psychiatric care dramatically. Psychotropic drugs enabled

psychotherapy to become easier available for patients with symptoms which had interfered with open verbal communication.

The research of the mechanisms of action of psychotropic drugs opened the way to investigate the brain functions and cohtributed to

the progress of neuroscience. In the last years the development of qualitatively new psychotropics slowed down. A progeress can be

expected especially in the introduction of biological methods of the treatment of drug dependence and in combining drug treatment

with new physical methods, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) or deep brain

stimulation (DBS). These methods differ substantially from electroconvulsive treatment. The patient remains conscious, he remains in

verbal contact with the physician and their application is not disagreeable.

Keywords: psychotropic drugs, neurotransmitters, receptors, drug development

Published: April 24, 2012  Show citation