Antipsychotic medications: linking receptor antagonist properties to neuropsychological functioning
Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Antipsychotic medications are thought to contribute to the neuropsychological impairments associated with schizophrenia, but specific links with pharmacology are not well established.This study investigated associations of specific medication properties with neuropsychological and psychiatric symptoms in a first-episode psychosis sample.Medication doses and indices of receptor antagonism were used to estimate dopamine antagonist, serotonergic antagonist, and anticholinergic loads (i.e., impact of participants' medications on those receptors).Results indicated that higher anticholinergic load was associated with poorer verbal long-term memory and higher D 2 load was associated with poorer motor functioning.Additional exploratory analyses indicated that in non-smokers, higher D 1 load was associated with more severe negative symptoms, whereas higher 5-HT 2A load was associated with less severe negative symptoms.Furthermore, in smokers, higher 5-HT 2A load was associated with poorer verbal working memory.These results support the validity of estimating medication receptor loads to elucidate specific and dissociable effects of antipsychotic medication properties.
Source: Summit (Simon Fraser University)
Author: Heather K. Neilson
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W178233172