RT Book, Section
A1 Ciccone, Charles D.
SR Print(0)
ID 1135034796
T1 General Principles of Central Nervous System Pharmacology
T2 Pharmacology in Rehabilitation
YR 2016
FD 2016
PB F. A. Davis Company
PP New York, NY
SN 9780803640290
LK fadavispt.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1135034796
RD 2024/04/19
AB The  central  nervous  system  (CNS)  is  responsible  for  controlling  bodily  functions,  and  it  is  the  center  for  behavioral  and  intellectual  abilities.  Neurons  within  the  CNS  are  organized  into  highly  complex  patterns  that  mediate  information  through  synaptic  interactions.  Clinicians  prescribe  CNS  drugs  to  modify  the  activity  of  these  neurons  in  order  to  treat  specific  disorders  or  to  alter  the  general  level  of  arousal  of  the  CNS.  This  chapter  presents  a  simplified  introduction  to  the  organization  of  the  CNS  and  the  general  drug  strategies  medical  practitioners  use  to  alter  activity  within  the  brain  and  spinal  cord.  This  chapter  is  not  intended  to  be  an  extensive  review  of  neuroanatomy  and  neurophysiology;  the  references  at  the  end  of  this  chapter  include  several  excellent  resources  on  this  topic.1–3  However,  this  chapter  will  review  certain  neuroanatomical  and  neurophysiological  concepts  that  will  help  you  understand  how  drugs  can  affect  CNS  function.  These  concepts  will  likewise  be  important  when  we  examine  the  actions  of  specific  CNS  drugs  in  the  next  several  chapters  in  this  book.