This book takes a critical look at the medications available for treating mood, anxiety, and cognitive disorders; their relevance to pathobiology and underlying mechanisms; and their limitations. The contributors provide background and rationale in understanding the underlying mechanisms of frontline treatments for these disorders.

ContributorsSection I: OverviewsChapter 1. Pharmacotherapy for mood, anxiety, and cognitive disorders: An overviewChapter 2. Current theories on the pathophysiology of mood disordersChapter 3. Pharmacological validity of diagnostic separationChapter 4. Signal amplification in psychiatric diagnosis: Therapeutic implicationsChapter 5. Gender differences in treatment of depression and anxietySection II: Mood StabilizersChapter 6. Carbamazepine and nimodipine in refractory bipolar illness: Efficacy and mechanismsChapter 7. Mechanisms of action of lithium in bipolar illnessChapter 8. Clinical efficacy of valproate in bipolar illness: Comparisons and contrasts with lithiumChapter 9. Therapeutic potential of inositol treatment in depression, panic, dementia, and lithium side effectsChapter 10. Electroconvulsive therapy: Current practice and future directionsChapter 11. Antidepressant and mood stabilization effects potential of transcranial magnetic stimulationSection III: AntidepressantsChapter 12. Changing targets of antidepressant therapy: Serotonin and beyondChapter 13. New emerging serotonergic antidepressantsChapter 14. Dopamine receptors and antidepressant developmentChapter 15. Noradrenergic and other new antidepressantsChapter 16. Sleep in depression and the effects of antidepressants on sleepChapter 17. Hormonal interventions as antidepressants or adjunct therapy: Treatment implicationsChapter 18. Mechanisms and management of treatment-resistant depressionChapter 19. Treatment of psychotic depressionChapter 20. Antidepressant maintenance medicationsSection IV: AnxiolyticsChapter 21. Overview of new anxiolyticsChapter 22. Interactions between physiological, hormonal, and environmental determinants: The anxiety modelChapter 23. Serotonin-specific anxiolytics: Now and in the futureChapter 24. Serotonergic treatments for panic disorderChapter 25. New treatments for social phobiaChapter 26. Why a peptide as an anxiolytic?Chapter 27. Cholecystokinin antagonists in panic and anxiety disordersChapter 28. NeurosteroidsChapter 29. Nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytics acting on the GABA receptorChapter 30. Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: From theory to practiceChapter 31. New approaches to treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorderSection V: Cognition and DementiaChapter 32. Pharmacological strategies for cognitive disorders: An overviewChapter 33. Cholinergic approaches to cognition and dementiaChapter 34. Serotonin mechanisms and cognitionChapter 35. Nicotinic cholinergic approaches to cognitive enhancement in the dementiasReferencesIndex

Our limited knowledge of the pathophysiology underlying mood disorders contrasts sharply with the efficacy of the treatment modalities developed over the past decades. There has been an explosion of new antidepressant and anxiolytic medications, as well as mood stabilizers and compounds that aim to improve cognition. Although treatment success is still not optimal, pharmacotherapy for mood disorders and cognitive disorders is effective and is improving. Pharmacotherapy for Mood, Anxiety, and Cognitive Disorders takes a critical look at the medications available for treating mood, anxiety, and cognitive disorders; their relevance to pathobiology and underlying mechanisms; and their limitations. Its 90 distinguished contributors, many of them pioneers in the development of treatment modalities, provide background and rationale in understanding the underlying mechanisms of frontline treatments for these disorders. This comprehensive reference examines effective new alternatives in mood stabilizers and describes an emerging group of antidepressant interventions. It examines gender differences in the treatment of depression and anxiety and the different responses to pharmacotherapy. Advances in the study of the pathobiology of anxiety disorders are reviewed as well as available treatment choices, including anxiolytic medications. In this book, the authors describe several treatment approaches to dementia and other age-related cognitive impairments. It also includes new treatments for social phobia. Providing both a broad overview and detailed reviews of pharmacotherapy, Pharmacotherapy for Mood, Anxiety, and Cognitive Disorders is essential reading for practitioners who want to understand the rationale and background for the drugs they prescribe and to assess medications that are currently under development.

[T]his volume is well-suited for in-depth exploration of important theoretical and clinical issues pertaining to mood, anxiety and cognitive disorders. Ronald Pies, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine