Psychopharmacology
Definition
Psychopharmacology is a branch of psychology that studies how drugs affect mood, sensation, thinking or behavior. These substances may be natural or artificial.
Analogy
Imagine psychopharmacology as a chef experimenting with different ingredients (drugs) in their recipes (the human mind). Each ingredient can change not only taste but also texture (mood), color (sensation), presentation (thinking), or even aroma (behavior).
Related terms
Psychoactive Drugs: These are chemical substances that alter perception, mood or consciousness. They include stimulants like caffeine and depressants like alcohol.
Pharmacokinetics: The study of what happens to a drug from when it enters until it leaves your body - absorption into bloodstream; distribution around body; metabolism into different substances; excretion out of body.
Pharmacodynamics: This is the study of how drugs affect our bodies. It looks at the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs and their mechanisms of action.
"Psychopharmacology" appears in:
Are you a college student?
Study guides for the entire semester
200k practice questions
Glossary of 50k key terms - memorize important vocab
Resources
© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.