Drug Therapies (OCR A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes
12.3.1 Drug Therapies
Drug therapy: typical and atypical antipsychotics
Psychotic = a condition where a person loses touch with reality
Typical antipsychotics (first-generation antipsychotics)
Typical antipsychotics are dopamine antagonists, meaning they inhibit dopamine activity by blocking dopamine receptors in the synapse.
Examples = chlorpromazine and haloperidol
- Typical antipsychotics are more effective at treating the positive symptoms of schizophrenia e.g. Delusions
Atypical antipsychotics (second-generation antipsychotics)
-
Developed in the 1980s as a solution to the potentially damaging side effects of typical antipsychotics Atypical antipsychotics are dopamine antagonists but may also act as serotonin agonists, meaning they inhibit serotonin reuptake in the synapse
-
Atypical antipsychotics treat both the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia
Examples = risperidone, olanzapine and clozapine
Evaluation:
(1)
P: A weakness of antipsychotic drugs is the severe side effects.
E: For example, some patients on typical antipsychotics develop tardive dyskinesia- a condition where there are uncontrollable facial tics. Even after stopping the use of the drug, this condition can persist. Side effects are less severe where patients are taking a reduced dose, as many do today, but this can reduce the effectiveness of the drug as well.
E: Therefore, The severity of the side effects is a weakness as patients will be reluctant to take them, or may experience long-term negative effects as a result of the drugs.
(2)
P: Research shows that drug therapies are improving and becoming more effective
E: Atypical antipsychotics are effective in 30% to 50% of treatment of resistant cases, that is, where other typical antipsychotics have failed.
E: This suggests that drug therapies are constantly developing and improving, and also proving to be effective in treating schizophrenia.
(3)
P: There are potential ethical issues with how drug therapies are being used
E: Antipsychotics have been used in hospitals to calm patients and make them easier for staff to work with rather than for the patient's benefit –
E: Therefore, perhaps other methods of treatment that work to improve the patient, such as CBT are more effective.