Table of Contents

CHAPTERS 1-4 provide extensive foundation materials, including the basic principles of pharmacology, neurophysiology and neuroanatomy, synaptic transmission, and methods in psychopharmacology.

1. Principles of Pharmacology


*New section on therapeutic drug monitoring

*New material on pharmacogenetics/personalized medicine

*Expanded section on transdermal drug delivery and viral vectors for gene therapy




2. Structure and Function of the Nervous System


*New section on epigenetics

*Introductory material on neurotrophic factors

*New section on comparing mammalian brains

*New box on stem cells

*New box on the HPA axis




3. Chemical Signaling by Neurotransmitters and Hormones


*New opening vignette on the discovery of chemical transmission in the brain

*Discussion of 'volume' vs. 'wiring' transmission

*New section on drug-induced synaptic plasticity

*New box on sex hormones and drug abuse




4. Methods of Research in Psychopharmacology


*Revised order to introduce behavioral methods before neurobiological methods

*Expanded section on translational research

*New material on pharmacological MRI

*New boxes showing how drug discrimination and transgenic mouse models are used in research




CHAPTERS 5-8 describe the basic biochemistry, anatomy, and functional contributions of key neurotransmitter systems.

5. Catecholamines


*New opening vignette on the use of stimulant drugs as study aids

*New box on genetic mutations in humans that interfere with dopamine synthesis

*Expanded coverage of the behavioral functions of the noradrenergic system




6. Serotonin


*New opening vignette describing a case report of the ' serotonin syndrome'

*New box on 'ecstasy' as a recreational drug, neurotoxin, and potential medication

*Discussion of the phenotypic characteristics of serotonin transporter knockout mice and of transgenic mice lacking central serotonergic neurons

*Expanded coverage of serotonin receptors and their functions

*New box on the role of serotonin in aggressive behavior




7. Acetylcholine


*New opening vignette describing the discovery and subsequent study of curare

*Expanded coverage of cholinergic pathways, receptors, and physiological functions

*New box on the role of acetylcholine in cognition




8. Glutamate and GABA


*Expanded coverage of vesicular and plasma membrane glutamate transporters

*Discussion of the potential therapeutic use of metabotropic glutamate receptor agonists in treating schizophrenia

*Discussion of ampakines as cognitive enhancers

*Updated box on long-term potentiation

*New box on the involvement of GABA in epilepsy




CHAPTERS 9-17 summarize the main features of addiction and cover all major abused drugs from the standpoint of prevalence of use, subjective effects, mechanisms of action, and addictive potential.

9. Drug Abuse and Addiction


*Completely reorganized with better integration of the various factors that contribute to addiction

*Coverage of the new DSM-5 criteria for substance use disorder

*New boxes discussing behavioral (non-drug) addictions and the role of dopamine in reward

*Expanded and updated coverage of addiction neurobiology




10. Alcohol


*Expanded section on fetal alcohol syndrome

*New discussion of extrasynaptic GABA receptors

*New section on the role of stress and alcohol consumption

*New material on alcoholism treatments

*New box on gender differences in the effects of alcohol

*New Web Box on Alcoholics Anonymous




11. The Opioids


*New material on nociceptin/orphanin FQ and its receptor

*New section on the role of opioids in other forms of pain control: acupuncture, dual inhibition of peptidases, and gene therapy

*New section on the use of acupuncture for opiate withdrawal

*New material on the use of buprenorphine maintenance and vaccines for addiction treatment

*New box on oxycontin




12. Psychomotor Stimulants: Cocaine and the Amphetamines


*New box on the relative reinforcing efficacy of cocaine vs. alternative reinforcers

*Updated coverage of the mechanisms of cocaine action

*New information on animal models of escalated cocaine self-administration

*Updated and expanded coverage of the development of cocaine addiction and of neuroimaging studies of cocaine users

*New coverage of synthetic cathinone derivatives marketed as 'bath salts'




13. Nicotine and Caffeine


*New opening vignette on the discovery of tobacco by Columbus

*Updated discussion of the role of nicotine vs. conditioning factors in the subjective effects of smoking

*Updated coverage of the cognitive effects of nicotine, the mechanisms of nicotine reinforcement, and nicotine tolerance

*New box on the progression from occasional to regular smoking, including the Hooked on Nicotine Checklist developed to assess the early stages of nicotine dependence

*New box on the health risks of caffeine-containing energy drinks




14. Marijuana and the Cannabinoids


*Updated coverage of cannabinoid receptors

*New information on the behavioral and physiological functions of the endocannabinoid system

*Updated discussion of the behavioral and health-related effects of acute and chronic cannabis use

*New box on the relationship between early heavy marijuana use and later risk for developing psychosis

*New information on designer cannabinoids marketed as ' K2' or 'Spice'




15. Hallucinogens, PCP, and Ketamine


*New coverage of Salvia divinorum including subjective effects and mechanism of action

*New information on instruments like the Altered States of Consciousness rating scale used to study the subjective effects of hallucinogenic substances

*Updated information on the mechanisms underlying hallucinogenesis

*Expanded discussion of the adverse effects of repeated PCP or ketamine exposure

*New information on potential therapeutic applications of ketamine




16. Inhalants, GHB, and Anabolic Androgenic Steroids


*Updated coverage of the effects of acute and chronic inhalant use

*New information on the health risks of inhalants, including a proposed fetal solvent syndrome to describe craniofacial anomalies seen in infants exposed to inhalants prenatally

*Expanded and updated coverage of the mechanisms of action of GHB, GHB abuse, and the therapeutic use of GHB

*Updated information on anabolic steroid use by amateur and professional athletes

*Expanded and updated coverage of the mechanism of anabolic steroid action on muscle growth and the health risks of anabolic steroid use




NEW CHAPTER!
17. Environmental Neurotoxicants and Endocrine Disruptors

CHAPTERS 18-21 cover psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, presenting symptoms, proposed etiology, and therapeutic approaches (especially pharmacotherapies) for each.

18. Anxiety Disorders: Sedative-Hypnotic and Anxiolytic Drugs


*Greatly expanded section on the neurobiology of anxiety

*Enhanced section on the role of catecholamines, GABA, and serotonin in anxiety

*New section on the interaction of genetics and the environment in determining anxiety

*New section on the role of stress-induced epigenetic changes in anxiety disorders

*New material on gender differences in the response to stress

*New Web Box on new therapeutic targets




19. Affective Disorders: Antidepressants and Mood Stabilizers


*Expanded section on animal models

*Expanded discussion of the role of antidepressant-induced enhancement of neurogenesis

*New material on tryptophan depletion challenge and polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter

*Expanded section on third-generation antidepressants: ketamine, galanin, and agomelatine

*Expanded and updated material on valproate and carbamazepine




20. Schizophrenia: Antipsychotic Drugs


*Greater emphasis on cognitive dysfunction throughout

*Enhanced section on the role of genetics

*Further development of the hypoglutamate model

*Expanded section on second-generation therapeutics

*New section on efforts to treat the cognitive symptoms

*New box on epigenetic changes and the risk for schizophrenia

*New box on a neurodevelopmental animal model




NEW CHAPTER!
21. Neurodegenerative Diseases

About the Author

Jerrold S. Meyer is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and former Director of the interdepartmental Neuroscience and Behavior Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He did his graduate work under Dr. Robert Bowman at the University of Wisconsin, receiving his Ph.D. in 1974, and he was a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Bruce McEwen at Rockefeller University and with Dr. William Boggan at the Medical University of South Carolina. He is the
author or coauthor of over 120 articles and chapters in the fields of neuropharmacology and neuroendocrinology, and coauthored the first edition of the present text with Linda Quenzer as well as Principles of
Neuropsychopharmacology (1997) with Robert Feldman and Linda Quenzer. Dr. Meyer is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Drug Abuse Research Society and the Editorial Board of the journal Neurotoxicology and Teratology. He is a past President of the Neurobehavioral Teratology Society. His current research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, focuses on stress and psychopathology in both humans and animal models. He has also recently conducted
numerous studies on the neurotoxic and behavioral effects of the abused drug MDMA ("ecstasy").

Linda F. Quenzer is Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Hartford. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1974 with Dr. Robert S. Feldman and she was an NIMH postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Preclinical Pharmacology with Dr. Norton Neff. During her appointment in the Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut Medical School, she received a Career Development Award from
the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Foundation. Dr. Quenzer has extensive teaching experience in the areas of psychobiology and neuropsychopharmacology at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels.
Her previous collaborations with Sinauer Associates include Fundamentals of Neuropsychopharmacology (1984, with Robert Feldman) and Principles of Neuropsychopharmacology (1997, with Robert Feldman and Jerrold Meyer). Her current interests concern the role of the HPA axis, hippocampal atrophy, and neurogenesis in psychiatric disorders.