Advances in Antipsychotics

Antipsychotics are a class of psychiatric medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), principally for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and are increasingly being used in the management of non-psychotic disorders (ATC code N05A). First-generation antipsychotics, known as typical antipsychotics, neuroleptics or major tranquilizers, were discovered in the 1950s. Most second-generation drugs, known as atypical antipsychotics, have been developed more recently. Both generations of medication tend to block receptors in the brain’s dopamine pathways, but atypicals tend to act on serotonin receptors as well.   In the present book, ten typical literatures about antipsychotics published on international authoritative journals were selected to introduce the worldwide newest progress, which contains reviews or original researches on medical science, neurology, psychology, ect. We hope this book can demonstrate advances in antipsychotics as well as give references to the researchers, students and other related people.