Psychopharmacology is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on mood, sensation, thinking, behavior, judgment and evaluation, and memory. It is distinguished from neuropsychopharmacology, which emphasizes the correlation between drug-induced changes in the functioning of cells in the nervous system and changes in consciousness and behavior.
Various psychoactive drugs
The common muscimol-bearing mushroom Amanita muscaria (fly agaric)
Neuropsychopharmacology, an interdisciplinary science related to psychopharmacology and fundamental neuroscience, is the study of the neural mechanisms that drugs act upon to influence behavior. It entails research of mechanisms of neuropathology, pharmacodynamics, psychiatric illness, and states of consciousness. These studies are instigated at the detailed level involving neurotransmission/receptor activity, bio-chemical processes, and neural circuitry. Neuropsychopharmacology supersedes psychopharmacology in the areas of "how" and "why", and additionally addresses other issues of brain function. Accordingly, the clinical aspect of the field includes psychiatric (psychoactive) as well as neurologic (non-psychoactive) pharmacology-based treatments. Developments in neuropsychopharmacology may directly impact the studies of anxiety disorders, affective disorders, psychotic disorders, degenerative disorders, eating behavior, and sleep behavior.
Abstract simplified diagram showing overlap between neurotransmission and metabolic activity. Neurotransmitters bind to receptors which cause changes to ion channels (black, yellow), metabotropic receptors also affect DNA transcription (red), transcription is responsible for all cell proteins including enzymes which manufacture neurotransmitters (blue).
Diagram of neural circuit which regulates melatonin production via actual circuit pathways. Green light in the eye inhibits pineal production of melatonin (Inhibitory connections shown in red). Also shown:reaction sequence for melatonin synthesis.
