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PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATIONS
OVERVIEW & GENERAL COMMENTS What are psychotropic medications? Psychotropic medications are drugs prescribed to stabilize or improve mood, mental status, or behavior. In other words, they are medications used to modify emotions or behavior. These medications are sometimes called "psychiatric medications" or "psychoactive medications." Some drugs may have more than one purpose. For example, the anticonvulsant carbamazepine (Tegretol) may be used to control seizures in an individual with epilepsy, but it is also used to reduce mood swings in another individual with manic-depressive illness. In the second case it is being used as a psychotropic medication. How are medications named? All medications have two names: - Trade or Brand Name. Chosen by the drug manufacturer and picked to be simple or memorable. Brand names are capitalized.
- generic name. Generally derived from the chemical structure of the drug. The generic name is always lower case, and is always the name used in scientific literature and reports.
Two different medications can have very similar generic names. Examples of this are the two drugs fluoxetine and fluvoxamine. All of this can be complex and confusing to the consumer.
--Ask your doctor or pharmacist for both names of any medication you or a family member is taking. What are some common types of psychotropic medications? Psychotropic medications can be grouped or classified in different ways. - by chemical structure
- how they work in the brain, that is, their action in the brain
- how they are most commonly used in treatment, that is, their therapeutic action
Many service providers and families find the therapeutic action grouping the most useful. Common groupings by therapeutic action with some examples are: Therapuetic Action | Effect | Examples (Generic & Brand Name of Drug) | Antidepressants | Elevate mood in people who are depressed | fluoxetine (Prozac)
paroxetine (Paxil)
sertraline (Zoloft)
imipramine (Tofranil) | Anti-anxiety | Used to treat anxiety disorders and reduce anxiety symptoms. | clonazepam (Klonapin)
lorazepam (Ativan)
buspirone (BuSpar) | Mood Stabilizers | Reduce mood swings in individuals with manic-depressive illness. | carbamazepine (Tegretol)
lithium (e.g., Lithonate)
valproic acid (Depakene, Depakote) | Antipsychotic Drugs, or "Neuroleptics"* | Treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.
Reduce psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations. | haloperidol (Haldol)
risperidone (Risperdal)*
olanzapine (Zyprexa)* |
* some newer forms of neuroleptics have recently been developed and are sometimes referred to as the "atypical neuroleptics." An example is the drug risperidone (Risperdal). Here are some examples of other important groups of medications that are classified by their action in the brain: Therapeutic Action | Effect | Examples (Generic & Brand Name of Drug) | Stimulants | Treat Attention-Hyperactivity Disorder. | methyphenidate (Ritalin)
dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine)
pemoline (Cylert) | Beta Blockers | Treat some forms of severe aggression. | propanolol (Indural) | Opiate Blockers | Treat some forms of self-injurious behavior | naltrexone (RiVea) |
Psychiatric Medications For Mental IllnessIndex of Psychiatric MedicationsListing of antipsychotic, antimanic, antidepressant, and antianxiety medications by generic and brand names. Also a children's psychiatric medications chart.cont. To find the section of the text that describes a particular medication in the lists below, find the generic (chemical) name and look it up on the first list or find the trade (brand) name and look it up on the second list. If the name of the medication does not appear on the prescription label, ask the doctor or pharmacist for it. (Note: Some drugs are marketed under numerous trade names, not all of which can be listed in a short publication like this one. If your medication's trade name does not appear in the list--and some older medicines are no longer listed by trade names--look it up by its generic name or ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.) Stimulant medications that are used by both children and adults with ADHD are listed in the children's medications chart). ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEDICATIONS BY GENERIC NAMEGENERIC NAME | TRADE NAME | | Antipsychotic Medications | chlorpromazine | Thorazine | chlorprothixene | Taractan | clozapine | Clozaril | fluphenazine | Permitil, Prolixin | haloperidol | Haldol | loxapine | Loxitane | mesoridazine | Serentil | molindone | Lidone, Moban | olanzapine | Zyprexa | perphenazine | Trilafon | pimozide (for Tourette's syndrome) | Orap | quetiapine | Seroquel | risperidone | Risperdal | thioridazine | Mellaril | thiothixene | Navane | trifluoperazine | Stelazine | trifluopromazine | Vesprin | ziprasidone | Geodon | | Antimanic Medications | carbamazepine | Tegretol | divalproex sodium (valproic acid) | Depakote | gabapentin | Neurontin | lamotrigine | Lamictal | lithium carbonate | Eskalith, Lithane, Lithobid | lithium citrate | Cibalith-S | topimarate | Topamax |
Antidepressant Medications | amitriptyline | Elavil | amoxapine | Asendin | bupropion | Wellbutrin | citalopram (SSRI) | Celexa | clomipramine | Anafranil | desipramine | Norpramin, Pertofrane | doxepin | Adapin, Sinequan | escitalopram (SSRI) | Lexapro | fluvoxamine (SSRI) | Luvox | fluoxetine (SSRI) | Prozac | imipramine | Tofranil | isocarboxazid (MAOI) | Marplan | maprotiline | Ludiomil | mirtazapine | Remeron | nefazodone | Serzone | nortriptyline | Aventyl, Pamelor | paroxetine (SSRI) | Paxil | phenelzine (MAOI) | Nardil | protriptyline | Vivactil | sertraline (SSRI) | Zoloft | tranylcypromine (MAOI) | Parnate | trazodone | Desyrel | trimipramine | Surmontil | venlafaxine | Effexor | | Antianxiety Medications | (All of these antianxiety medications except buspirone are benzodiazepines) | alprazolam | Xanax | buspirone | BuSpar | chlordiazepoxide | Librax, Libritabs, Librium | clonazepam | Klonopin | clorazepate | Azene, Tranxene | diazepam | Valium | halazepam | Paxipam | lorazepam | Ativan | oxazepam | Serax | prazepam | Centrax |
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEDICATIONS BY TRADE NAME TRADE NAME | GENERIC NAME | | Antipsychotic Medications | Clozaril | clozapine | Geodon | ziprasidone | Haldol | haloperidol | Lidone | molindone | Loxitane | loxapine | Mellaril | thioridazine | Moban | molindone | Navane | thiothixene | Orap (for Tourette's syndrome) | pimozide | Permitil | fluphenazine | Prolixin | fluphenazine | Risperdal | risperidone | Serentil | mesoridazine | Seroquel | quetiapine | Stelazine | trifluoperazine | Taractan | chlorprothixene | Thorazine | chlorpromazine | Trilafon | perphenazine | Vesprin | trifluopromazine | Zyprexa | olanzapine | | Antimanic Medications | Cibalith-S | lithium citrate | Depakote | valproic acid, divalproex sodium | Eskalith | lithium carbonate | Lamictal | lamotrigine | Lithane | lithium carbonate | Lithobid | lithium carbonate | Neurontin | gabapentin | Tegretol | carbamazepine | Topamax | topiramate | | Antidepressant Medications | Adapin | doxepin | Anafranil | clomipramine | Asendin | amoxapine | Aventyl | nortriptyline | Celexa (SSRI) | citalopram | Desyrel | trazodone | Effexor |
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