Thisbook is a comprehensive resource on psychotropic medications, detailing thelatest methods for defining their characteristics, their use in differentpatient populations, and drug-drug interactions; an important collection ofinformation forclinicians, students, researchers, and members of thepharmaceutical industry alike.

Thefirst section provides the foundational principles of these drugs. Mathematicalmodeling of parameters that affect their entryto,and exit from, the centralnervous system (CNS) compartment are presented on an individual basis and thenapplied to target populations with specific disease states. Methods andcharacteristics that inform the transfer of these drugs from the laboratorybench to use in patient care are discussed, including imaging techniques,genetics and physiological barriers, such as the blood-brain barrier. The secondsection describes the characteristics of specific agents,nominally arrangedintodifferent therapeutic categories and with reference crossover use indifferent disease states. The pharmacologic characteristics of different drugformulations are explored in the context of their ability to improve patientadherence. The third section focuses on drug-drug interactions.Psychotropic medicationsfrom different categories are frequently prescribed together,or alongsidemedications used to treat comorbid conditions, and the information provided isdirectly relevant to the clinic, as a result.

Theclinical application of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of CNS agents hasmade significant progress over the past 50 years and new information is reportedby numerous publications in psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology.Ourunderstanding of the interrelationship between these medications, receptors,drug transporters, as well as techniques for measurement and monitoring theirinteractions,isfrequently updated. However, with information presented on ahost of different platforms, and in different formats, obtaining the fullpicture can be difficult. This title aims to collate this information into asingle source that can be easily interpreted and applied towards patient careby the clinical practitioner, and act as a reference for all others who have aninterest in psychopharmacological agents.