PSYC 1010 Chapter Notes - Chapter 16: Alprazolam, Diazepam, Antipsychotic

• School: York University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1010
• Professor: Myriam Mongrain

Document Summary

Therapeutic drugs include, antianxiety drugs, antipsychotic drugs, antidepressant drugs, and mood-stabilizing drugs: antianxiety drugs, which relieve tension, apprehension, and nervousness. The most popular of these drugs are valium and xanax (side effects- drowsiness, depression, nausea, confusion). Valium, xanax, and other drugs in the benzodiazepine family are often called tranquilizers. Experience withdrawal when medication is stopped: antipsychotic drugs are used to gradually reduce psychotic symptoms, including hyperactivity, mental confusion, hallucinations, and delusions. The traditional antipsychotics appear to decrease activity at dopamine synapses, although the exact relationship between their neurochemical effects and their clinical effects remains obscure: takes several months to have a full effect. Side effects - drowsiness, constipation, and cottonmouth are common. Tremors, muscular rigidity, and impaired coordination: patients who stop taking antipsychotics medication relapse within a year, tardive dyskinesia is a neurological disorder marked by involuntary writhing and tic-like movements of the mouth, tongue, face, hands, or feet.