A psychiatric or psychotropic medication is a psychoactive drug taken to exert an effect on the chemical makeup of the brain and nervous system.
These medications are typically made of synthetic chemical compounds and are usually prescribed in psychiatric settings, potentially involuntarily during commitment.
In the same decade, Julius Axelrod carried out research into the interaction of neurotransmitters, which provided a foundation for the development of further drugs.
As of 2013, the 10 most prescribed psychiatric drugs by number of prescriptions were alprazolam, sertraline, citalopram, fluoxetine, lorazepam, trazodone, escitalopram, duloxetine, bupropion XL, and venlafaxine XR.
[14] In addition to the familiar dosage in pill form, psychiatric medications are evolving into more novel methods of drug delivery.
The professional and commercial fields of pharmacology and psychopharmacology do not typically focus on psychedelic or recreational drugs, and so the majority of studies are conducted on psychiatric medication.
MAOIs are not used as first-line treatment due to the risk of hypertensive crisis related to the consumption of foods containing the amino acid tyramine.
[22] Common antidepressants: Antipsychotics are drugs used to treat various symptoms of psychosis, such as those caused by psychotic disorders or schizophrenia.
[25][26] Developed in the 1950s onward, benzodiazepines were originally thought to be non-addictive at therapeutic doses, but are now known to cause withdrawal symptoms similar to barbiturates and alcohol.
Common benzodiazepines and z-drugs include: In 1949, the Australian John Cade discovered that lithium salts could control mania, reducing the frequency and severity of manic episodes.
Because the medications can be addictive, patients with a history of drug abuse are typically monitored closely or treated with a non-stimulant.
Common stimulants: Professionals, such as David Rosenhan, Peter Breggin, Paula Caplan, Thomas Szasz and Stuart A. Kirk sustain that psychiatry engages "in the systematic medicalization of normality".
[29]: 185 Scholars such as Cooper, Foucalt, Goffman, Deleuze and Szasz believe that pharmacological "treatment" is only a placebo effect,[30] and that administration of drugs is just a religion in disguise and ritualistic chemistry.