Alpha 2.0
Login Register
» Articles » PMID: 32166162

Psychopharmacology: From Serendipitous Discoveries to Rationale Design, but What Next?

Overview
Journal Brain Neurosci Adv
Publisher Sage Publications
Specialty Neurology
Date 2020 Mar 14
PMID 32166162
Citations 5
Authors
Emma Robinson
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

Psychopharmacology really developed as a discipline from the mid-20th century with the discovery of a number of new classes of psychoactive drugs which could modify behaviour. These drugs were discovered as a consequence of clinical observations of patients, often being treated for other conditions. These serendipitous discoveries were the start of an era of drug development which has led to the antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics and mood stabilisers used today. Subsequent research focused on understanding why these drugs were effective, and used this information to develop a second generation of drugs that were more selective for their therapeutic targets, and therefore had reduced side effects and improved safety and tolerability. After a period of decline in new discoveries and withdrawal of the majority of the major pharmaceutical companies from active development programmes in psychiatry, new avenues are emerging fuelling renewed interest in this area.

Citing Articles

Insights from a methylome-wide association study of antidepressant exposure.

Davyson E, Shen X, Huider F, Adams M, Borges K, McCartney D Nat Commun. 2025; 16(1):1908.

PMID: 39994233 PMC: 11850842. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55356-x.

From Computation to Clinic.

Yip S, Barch D, Chase H, Flagel S, Huys Q, Konova A Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci. 2023; 3(3):319-328.

PMID: 37519475 PMC: 10382698. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.03.011.

Metabolomic Investigation of Major Depressive Disorder Identifies a Potentially Causal Association With Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids.

Davyson E, Shen X, Gadd D, Bernabeu E, Hillary R, McCartney D Biol Psychiatry. 2023; 94(8):630-639.

PMID: 36764567 PMC: 10804990. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.01.027.

The Prescriber's Guide to the MAOI Diet-Thinking Through Tyramine Troubles.

Van den Eynde V, Gillman P, Blackwell B Psychopharmacol Bull. 2022; 52(2):73-116.

PMID: 35721816 PMC: 9172554.

Role of serendipity in the discovery of classical antidepressant drugs: Applying operational criteria and patterns of discovery.

Lopez-Munoz F, DOcon P, Romero A, Guerra J, Alamo C World J Psychiatry. 2022; 12(4):588-602.

PMID: 35582332 PMC: 9048453. DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v12.i4.588.

References
1.
Steinpreis R . The behavioral and neurochemical effects of phencyclidine in humans and animals: some implications for modeling psychosis. Behav Brain Res. 1996; 74(1-2):45-55. DOI: 10.1016/0166-4328(95)00162-x. View
2.
Stimmel G, Dopheide J, Stahl S . Mirtazapine: an antidepressant with noradrenergic and specific serotonergic effects. Pharmacotherapy. 1997; 17(1):10-21. View
3.
Whittle A, Walsh J, De Lecea L . Light and chemical control of neuronal circuits: possible applications in neurotherapy. Expert Rev Neurother. 2014; 14(9):1007-17. DOI: 10.1586/14737175.2014.948850. View
4.
Isohanni M, Jones P, Moilanen K, Rantakallio P, Veijola J, Oja H . Early developmental milestones in adult schizophrenia and other psychoses. A 31-year follow-up of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort. Schizophr Res. 2001; 52(1-2):1-19. DOI: 10.1016/s0920-9964(00)00179-1. View
5.
Carhart-Harris R, Wall M, Erritzoe D, Kaelen M, Ferguson B, De Meer I . The effect of acutely administered MDMA on subjective and BOLD-fMRI responses to favourite and worst autobiographical memories. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2013; 17(4):527-40. DOI: 10.1017/S1461145713001405. View