| A | B |
|---|
| acetylcholine | neurotransmitter thought to contribute significant role in transmission of nerve impulses at synapses & myoneural junctions |
| akathisia | motor restlessness, inability to sit still |
| antianxiety agents (anxiolytics) | drug agent used to counteract or diminish anxiety |
| antidepressants | CNS depressant that acts to prevent, cure or alleviate mental depression |
| antipsychotic agents (neuroleptics) | drug agents used to treat serious mental illness: bipolar affective disorder, depressive & drug induced psychosis, schizophrenia, and autism |
| drug-induced parkinsonism | symptoms mimicking parkinsonsim such as tremors, rigidity, akinesia or absence of movement with diminished mental state |
| dystonia | muscle rigidity that affects posture, gait, eye movements |
| extrapyramidal side effects | effects produced by antipsychotic drugs that block dopamine causing irritation of the pyr |
| monoamine oxidae inhibitors (MAOIs) | group of drugs that inhibit monamine oxidase and are effective in treating depression |
| mood-stabilizing (antimanic) agents | used to treat manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder or to diminish future episodes |
| neuroleptic malignant syndrome | potentially fatal reaction most often seen with high-potency antipsychotic drugs causing muscular rigidity, tremors, inability to speak, altered level of consciousness, hyperthermia, autonomic dysfunction & elevated WBC count |
| neurotransmitters | chemical messenger proteins stored in the presynaptic compartment located before the nerve synapse that are released and travel across the synapse to act on the target cell to produce a response |
| postsynaptic receptor | cell component that is distal to the synapse and that a drug, hormone, or chemical binds to in order to alter the function of the cell |
| preseynaptic compartment | stoage compartment for neurotransmitters located before the nerve synapse |
| psychopharmacology | study of changes that occur as the drugs interact with the chemicals in the brain |
| psychotropic (psychoactive) agents | drugs that affect psychiatric function, behavior, or experience be exerting their primary effect on neurotransmitter systems of the body |
| reuptake | neurotransmitters are absorbed back into the presynaptic compartment of the previous neuron |
| serotonin | potent vasoconstrictor thought to be involved in neural mechanisms related to arousal, sleep, dreams, mood, appetite and sensitivity to pain |
| serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) | drugs used in the treatment of depression |
| synaptic cleft | point of junction between two neurons in a neural pathway where neurotransmitters trigger receptor response |
| tardive dyskinesia | extrapyrimidal syndrome after long-term use of antipsychotic drugs with irreversible movements of the mouth & face that include grimacing, lip-smacking, grinding of teeth, and protruding tongue movements |
