Syllabus
1. Basis of neurobiology, neurochemistry and neurophysiology
2. Neuroplasticity, neurotoxicity, stress
3. Psychotropics in therapy of schizophrenia and mood disorders
4. Mechanisms of action of psychoactive drugs
5. Neurobiology of mood disorders, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease
6. Experimental methods of biological psychiatry
Annotation
Information is summarized about intercellular and intracellular signal transduction in neurons with focus on neurotransmitter receptor systems and signalling pathways, which are affected by mental disorders and by psychotropic drugs. Mechanisms of neuroplasticity, neurotoxicity and stress are summarized.
Mechanisms of action of psychotropic drugs are examined in details, of antidepressants, antipsychotics and drugs abuse in particular. Biological hypotheses of selected mental disorders are discussed, e.g. hypotheses of mood disorders, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease.
Scopes of research in the field of molecular psychiatry in Department of Psychiatry of First Faculty of Medicine are introduced in the closing lecture; selected results are presented from our study of mechanisms of action of antidepressants, mood stabilizers, cognitives and in the field of biological markers of mood disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Test.