1. PSYCHO
PHARMACOLOGY
Dr. James M. Alo, RN, MAN, MAP, PHD
drjAlo

2. “And while we are on the subject of medication you always
need to look at risk versus benefit. “
Temple Grandin
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3. Psychopharmacology
 The systematic study of the effects of drugs on
behavior, cognitive processing, and emotions.
 These drugs are called psychoactive or
psychotropic drugs – drugs that change
behavior, emotions, and cognitive processes
by changing the normal activity of the nervous
system
drjAlo

4. Derivation of the Term
Psychopharmacology
 Psyche – mind
 Pharmaka – drugs and medicine (pharmakus)
 Logos - study
drjAlo

5. Factors Influencing the Effects of
Drugs
 Factors related to the drug itself
 1. the chemical structure
 2. the dosage – how much was taken
 3. how frequently the drug is taken
 4. how long since last taken
drjAlo

6. Factors Influencing the Effects of
Drugs
 Factors not related to the drug
 1. mind set of person taking the drug
 2. the setting where the drug was taken
 3. the person’s unique biomedical make up
drjAlo

7. Good drugs and Bad Drugs?
 Drugs are chemicals, they are neither good
nor bad. Whether viewed as good or bad
depends upon
 1. how much is taken
 2. why it is taken
 3. the context in which is taken
drjAlo

8. History of Drug Use
 Use of naturally occurring psychoactive drugs
has existed as long as human history
 The use of mushrooms, opium, cannabis,
morning glory seeds, alcohol, coca leaves,
and even toads have been used for thousands
of years
drjAlo

9. Other Species Use of Drugs
 Apes, horses, and horses prefer water with
alcohol over plain water
 Some birds prefer fermented berries over fresh
 Bees prefer the intoxicating nectar of certain
flowers
 Llamas chew coca leaves
 Reindeer have been known to seek
hallucinogenic mushrooms
 Some ants maintain groups of beetles that
secrete intoxicating substances
drjAlo

10. Drugs in the 19th Century
 Major change in the use of drugs –isolation or
distillation of the active chemical that caused
behavioral changes
 1805 – morphine isolated from opium – used
to treat periods of “insanity”
 1857- cocaine isolated from coca leaves –
used to treat depression
drjAlo

11. Recreational and Social Use of
Drugs
 Most likely existed before recorded history
 19th century saw the use of therapeutic drugs becoming
used for recreation
 Jacque-Joseph Moreau a French psychiatrist, wrote
about the medicinal and social use of hashish in 1845
 Drugs were widely used and their use was acceptable
drjAlo

12. Recreational and Social Use of
Drugs
 Recreational use of drugs began to be seen as
bad and immoral
 Addictiveproperties became known
 More powerful drugs isolated
 Larger quantities became available
 Latter part of the 19th century laws prohibiting
drug use and penalties for use began to be
written – not very successful
drjAlo

13. 1950’s
 Psychopharmacology said to have begun in the
1950’s with the widespread use of
chlorpromazine or Thorazine
 Thorazine used as a pre-anesthesia in France
to calm people. Tested on people with
schizophrenia
 Promazine – an antihistamine used in surgery
also found to reduce symptoms of schizophrenia
 Dramatic increase in the testing of other drugs
to treat mental illness and development of new
drugs drjAlo

14. Illegal Drugs
 Making certain drugs illegal or controlled
substances, only to be used by MD’s, has
done little to curtail the use of these drugs.
 May have prevented a major increase in the
use of drugs.
 Many people see no reason to stop
 Drug abuse is wrong, but I am not abusing drugs
drjAlo

15. What is Drug Abuse?
 The self administration of any drug in a manner
that deviates from approved medical or societal
pattern within a culture.
 Problem – What is considered a “deviation”?
 Problem – people may not recognize or admit
when they meet the criteria of drug abuse
drjAlo

16. Effects of the “War on Drugs”
 Use of narcotics has remained fairly constant
since 1975 – use of pharmacological narcotics
has dramatically increased
 Use of cocaine has fallen, but number of
frequent users hasn’t
 For young adults major decline in use of
cigarettes, hallucinogens, and cannabis.
Alcohol use constant – binge drinking has
increased
drjAlo

17. Purpose of This Course
 Education about the chemicals we call drugs:
 What are drugs?
 What are their intended effects and side effects?
 How do they work?
 When can they be beneficial? Harmful?
 Remember, just being legal does not make a
drug a “good” drug
 Nicotine and alcohol
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18. Side Effects of the “War on
Drugs”
 Development of new more powerful drugs that
can be shipped in smaller amounts
 Increase in more hazardous ways of taking
drugs
 Issue of decreasing drug abuse a very complex
problem that requires more than just attempting
to stop the flow of drugs
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44. “You shouldn't be told you're completely irresponsible and
be left alone with too much medication. It's too easy to
forget. You take a couple of sleeping pills and you wake up
in twenty minutes and forget you've taken them. So you
take a couple more, and the next thing you know you've
taken too many.”
Judy Garland
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47. Thank You
drjAlo