Pathway-Anatomy-Psychological Disorder

Instructions as follow:

“The purpose of this project is to introduce you to drug actions in the treatment of psychological disorders and some of the scientific literature that supports this form of treatment. Specifically you will choose a particular serotonin pathway and search for literature that illustrates the effectiveness and problems with using drugs like Zoloft or Prozac (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors, SSRI’s) to treat the associated psychological disorders.

Drugs can be agonists, that is they potentiate or mimic the effect of a neurotransmitter, or they can be antagonists, working against the action of a neurotransmitter. A drug can block re-uptake of the neurotransmitter thus keeping it effective in the synapse longer. Zoloft, for example, blocks the re-uptake of the indolamine neurotransmitter serotonin (5HT) and thus it remains active in the synapse longer. The movies, neurotransmission and drug action illustrate the process of synaptic transmission and some mechanisms by which drugs can serve as agonists and antagonists. In the case of the SSRI’s like Zoloft (which you might want to look up by either going to your local pharmacy and requesting package inserts or visiting web sites) you will see that they are FDA approved to treat some of the serotonin deficiency disorders like depression, panic, and eating disorders associated with the different pathways. Clinically some of the movies in this project illustrate patients with these disorders.

Pathway-Anatomy-Psychological Disorder

1. Raphe to Prefrontal Cortex Depression
2. Raphe to Basal Ganglia OCD
3. Raphe to Limbic & Temporal Ctx Panic/anxiety
4. Raphe to Hypothalamus Eating Disorders
5. Raphe to Raphe and Spinal Cord Slow Wave Sleep

Don’t forget to use your DSM-IV (or DSM-V if you have access to that). You should find three or four references for the pathway/disorder you have chosen involving the use of SSRI’s. You will produce a final report that includes the Indications for SSRI use in the disorder, the Contra-indications, the Side effects, and the results of your literature search. As a conclusion write whether or not you think SSRI’s should be used in normal clinical practice.”