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Textbooks for Foundational Neuropsychopharmacological Understanding

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sytar

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Textbooks for Foundational Understanding of Neuropsychopharmacology

I've been trying to build a foundational knowledge that I've observed many on the forum seem to already possess. I was hoping I could increase my yield by getting advice on the books I should be reading so I don't waste my time on things that are irrelevant. I plan on taking a course in Organic Chemistry at my local college in the Fall Semester.


Here's what I'm studying or have studied:

Campbell, Reece, et al.'s "Biology" (Completed)
Zumdahl, Zumdahl, et al.'s "Chemistry" (Completed)
Author Unknown, "General Psychology" (Completed)
Author Unknown, "Lifespan Psychology" (Completed)
Barlow, Durand, et al. "Abnormal Psychology" (Completed)
Shier, Butler, et al.'s "Hole's Human Anatomy and Physiology" (Completed)
Stahl's "Essentials of Psychopharmacology" (Completed)
Voet, Voet, et. al.'s "Fundamentals of Biochemistry" (In progress)
Tinoco, Sauer, et al.'s "Physical Chemistry: Principles and Applications in Biological Sciences" (In progress)

I found Barlow, Durand et al.'s Abnormal Psychology to be almost a complete waste of time and Stahl's Psychopharm to be frustratingly shallow.

What textbooks would you recommend to a student interested in cementing a foundational understanding of NPP?

Some of the books I was considering are:
  • Nestler, Hyman, et al.'s "Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience".
  • Charney, Nestler, et al.'s "Neurobiology of Mental Illness"
  • Squire, Zigmond, et al.'s "Fundmentals of Neuroscience"
  • Davis, Charney, et al.'s "Neuropsychopharmacology: The Fifth Generation of Progress"
  • Cooper, Bloom, et al's "The Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology"
  • Breedlove, Watson, et al's "Biological Psychology"
I have no idea if these are worthwhile reads. If they are, I'm not even sure what order to tackle them in. Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Has Cooper, Bloom, et al.'s "The Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology" been 'replaced' by Bloom, Roth, et al.'s "Introduction to Neuropsychopharmacology"?
 
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((since my question is so similar, I'm going to post it here. OP, if that bothers you, I'll move it - although you may be able to answer it for me :) ))

I'm fascinated by chemistry but have zero background in it. I could talk all day about why naloxone's poor affinity makes it a pretty damn useless addition to buprenorphine in suboxone pills, or how NMDA/glutamate changes due to dopamine are a large foundation for addictions in general, could compare and contrast morphine to heroin(diacetylmorphine) all day long.
BUT- I want a better grounding in it, I've learned it all from the internet, researching topics of interest. Are there a few specific "areas"/fields that people could point me to so I could find textbooks/online resources? Like, I understand agonism, antagonism, affinity, etc, but I don't know "why" these things happen, I just understand, say, that bupe's affinity makes naloxone, despite being an antagonist, practically pointless to add to suboxone, but what determines affinities? I understand there's mu-opioid receptors in the brain, spine, and gut, but wish I understood why some things seem to hit one spot more than the other (immodium versus, say, IV heroin; hell, even back to suboxone, many seem to fear taking it orally simply becase of any antagonism in the digestive-tract's mu- receptors.)
Any links or even names of 'disciplines' for me to learn more would be heavily appreciated!!!
 


The big one is a pretty basic text I used in med-school, but despite some 1400 pages, it is missing quite a bit. The little book is around 700 pages, and does not go into mechanisms or theory; it is geared for physicians with an average/basic understanding of psychopharm and is meant to be used in a clinical setting (unlike the big book it is not a textbook, it is a reference book to be used in the field). Both have their fair share of errors/omissions, but in general contain decent information.

Unfortunately, the material in the big book encompasses all the mandatory psychopharm requirements for US (and international) physicians. I believe that this material is insufficient, and the lack of emphasis on in-depth neuropsychopharm is in my eyes, a serious problem in medicine. The pharmacology requirements for DVM's are more demanding (yes, partially a function of the multiple species, but not entirely).
 
Would you recommend that specific textbook? Have you compared it with others? If you can't/don't wanna answer with specifics I'd certainly understand why.
(happy you replied, I've read quite a bit from you in the past and know you're credible here)
 
I am not so much recommending it....I am just saying it is a pretty standard medical text. Yes, I have texts I bought for self-study that go well beyond this, but this textbook does a good job of "laying a foundation"......
 
okay, thought the pic meant endorsement ;) From *your* perspective, what textbook would be that one's biggest competitor? What textbook would you trade that one for, if any? I, and think the OP, want great books, not something "good" yknow?
(yeah, playing devil's advocate there I guess, but that's a big book to read and realize there was a better one on the shelf AFTER I'd read the thing ;-) )
 
It seems unlikely that anyone looking for book advice in this thread is going to be concerned with, certainly not start their education with a clinical manual.
 
Well regardless of how it may seem to you, it's the case. And it's not "starting" education, it's continuing it. I know that because it's me - and I've read/studied this stuff for many years, and the OP, who's already mentioned what he's studied.
 
I know this isn't exactly what you asked about, unfortunately I am still beginning my study into pharmacology myself, I even need to go and do my Grade 12 Calculus, Chemistry and Biology still, won't be in university for Life Sciences until September 2012, then I need to complete at least 1 year to transfer into Pharmacology. But I'm very keen on it and have been for the past 3 years or so, just self-learning, picking up bits and pieces here and there on ADD. Anyways, this textbook was recommended by someone here, and I think it's a really nice visual aid, perhaps not terribly in-depth but I hope you'll appreciate it as another resource to have around and it's definitely worth a quick look through.

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3535506/Color_atlas_of_pharmacology__2nd_Ed._(by_H._Lullmann_et_al)

EDIT

If the OP or somebody could recommend to me, a good introduction to pharmacology, perhaps not even a textbook but just 'good reading' on the subject even, I'd be very appreciative. I have a good 1.5 years to get through before I can begin anything resembling formal studies in the field but I must say, not a single thing has intrigued me as much in this life as pharmacology has. This was initially down to my desire to use substances responsibly and know what I'm getting myself into, but it's certainly blossomed into an entirely separate passion of mine now. I hope this doesn't derail this thread (PM me perhaps). Thanks!
 
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As I mentioned in my first post, I'm working through Voet and Voet's Biochemistry. Recently, I've been picking through Tinoco, Sauer, et al.'s "Physical Chemistry: Principles and Applications in Biological Sciences."

What I'm hearing is that it would be most appropriate for me to next read The Textbook of Psychopharmacology? Will I be able to understand it? What about the books I have listed for consideration? Any other recommendations or insights would be greatly appreciated.
 
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I've worked my way through some intro chem book for intro chem, mcmurrys organic chem, Pharmcology for Chemists 2nd ed by joseph G. cannon, and first 7 chpts of Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain (essentially just the foundations of neuroscience). I've also started reading the Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology by cooper and bloom, quantitative chemical analysis by harris, and Advanced Organic Chemistry Part A by Carey and Sundberg.

Easiest reads were the intro chem book (can't remember what it was), organic chem book, and the neuroscience book. Pharmcology for chemists wasn't bad, but just isn't very detailed (was still pretty complex when I read it over a year ago, but now, not a hard read). I feel like I need a larger neuroscience/cytology/biochem knowledge bank to move through the Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology a bit more efficiently and effectively. The adv orgo part a isn't a bad read, but I do find myself having to look up alternate perspective or definitions on some of the topics/topic details.
 
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Appreciating the replies so far.

From what Cloudy said it seems like I shouldn't be reading Cooper, Bloom, et al. until I get a little more foundation. What about the Bloom, Roth, et al's Introduction to neuropsychopharm? From what I read on the amazon reviews it seems like this book is the "successor" to Cooper, Bloom, et al.

If anyone could maybe compare and contrast what some of the different books offer and explain what foundations are needed to understand each of them, that would be doubly appreciated.
 
The book that I displayed is meant for medical students, so it is not highly technical or advanced and could be easily read by anyone with a pretty basic understanding of biochemistry etc. It does not require knowledge of advanced organic chemistry, and it does not have complex discussions concerning structure-activity/conformation-activity relationship (it touches upon SAR, but again, no advanced o-chem needed).

Here is a google link to the book. I am not saying that this is the best book, but it is a decent starting point upon which you can later expand. And don't let the "med-school" textbook thing scare you.....what people fail to realize is that the MCAT does not contain chemistry more advanced than a typical "Organic Chemistry I" class (and very 'light' o-chem I at that). The mathematics are simple, the biology/biochem/MCB etc is pretty basic, and the physics questions are rather simple (this was the section that I actually scored the lowest on, there were some formulas that I did not have memorized).

Point is, the book is geared for such individuals. Many people have this mystified/romanticized notion of medical school, and physicians in general. Sure, its become harder to get into the good schools due to the massive number of applicants, but if you score above 40, and have pretty good grades and perhaps some experience (in my case, I had been working in veterinary medicine for years).
 
vortex30 said:
I know this isn't exactly what you asked about, unfortunately I am still beginning my study into pharmacology myself, I even need to go and do my Grade 12 Calculus, Chemistry and Biology still, won't be in university for Life Sciences until September 2012, then I need to complete at least 1 year to transfer into Pharmacology. But I'm very keen on it and have been for the past 3 years or so, just self-learning, picking up bits and pieces here and there on ADD. Anyways, this textbook was recommended by someone here, and I think it's a really nice visual aid, perhaps not terribly in-depth but I hope you'll appreciate it as another resource to have around and it's definitely worth a quick look through.

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3535506/Color_atlas_of_pharmacology__2nd_Ed._(by_H._Lullmann_et_al)

EDIT

If the OP or somebody could recommend to me, a good introduction to pharmacology, perhaps not even a textbook but just 'good reading' on the subject even, I'd be very appreciative. I have a good 1.5 years to get through before I can begin anything resembling formal studies in the field but I must say, not a single thing has intrigued me as much in this life as pharmacology has. This was initially down to my desire to use substances responsibly and know what I'm getting myself into, but it's certainly blossomed into an entirely separate passion of mine now. I hope this doesn't derail this thread (PM me perhaps). Thanks!
Click to expand...
Doesn't derail the thread, it enhances it ;)

negrogesic said:
The book that I displayed is meant for medical students, so it is not highly technical or advanced and could be easily read by anyone with a pretty basic understanding of biochemistry etc. It does not require knowledge of advanced organic chemistry, and it does not have complex discussions concerning structure-activity/conformation-activity relationship (it touches upon SAR, but again, no advanced o-chem needed).

Here is a google link to the book. I am not saying that this is the best book, but it is a decent starting point upon which you can later expand. And don't let the "med-school" textbook thing scare you.....what people fail to realize is that the MCAT does not contain chemistry more advanced than a typical "Organic Chemistry I" class (and very 'light' o-chem I at that). The mathematics are simple, the biology/biochem/MCB etc is pretty basic, and the physics questions are rather simple (this was the section that I actually scored the lowest on, there were some formulas that I did not have memorized).

Point is, the book is geared for such individuals. Many people have this mystified/romanticized notion of medical school, and physicians in general. Sure, its become harder to get into the good schools due to the massive number of applicants, but if you score above 40, and have pretty good grades and perhaps some experience (in my case, I had been working in veterinary medicine for years).
Click to expand...
Thank you much - again, your posts show your credibility, so your reco's carry some good weight ;-P
 
I'm glad someone started this thread, I think there's MANY green/bluelighters, even lurkers, who will find this thread very useful. Obviously I have bias here, but I'm very keen on seeing significant advancements in neuropharmacology (and just in brain understanding/sciences in general). This can only help, the more people that find easy ways to start learning, the better.
I've been around these boards for far, far longer than I care to admit, LOL. When I came here many years ago, it was cool to me to learn there was, say MDA, and I eventually found that in some instances I preferred it to MDMA - at that point in life, b4 coming here, I thought the availability of high quality MDMA in my area was the pinnacle. Once I was here, things like candy-tripping / etc came to light, and it was amazing. Years down the line, I'm able to understand the basics of issues that have relevance to myself and others, such as the role of NMDA/Glutamate in rewarding behaviors, in how drugs change these pathways, etc, which is huge to anyone who is, or knows/helps others who are, addicted. I won't even get into the culture of it, or all the silly little things (CWE's, etc), but it's great because everyone learns about these complex compounds. Some want to learn more, and this thread will be/is a great 1st step for that.

(in fact, I'm gg to ADD to see if there's any informational stickies, if not, perhaps a mod will see this and consider the idea of setting up a sticky with sources/links to references, so more bluelighters can really understand what they're doing, since that's absolutely good for those involved, good for general harm reduction reasons (like no MAOI's with MDMA, or why NMDA antagonists will make an opioid withdrawal's symptoms spike), and given some of the bright lights we have here, potentially good for society as a whole ;-P )
 
Good replies so far!

I schleped through The Textbook of Psychopharmacology. I'm a little concerned that it might only go into slightly more depth than Stahl's Psychopharm. Maybe this fear is unfounded. You said that there were more comprehensive texts available?
 
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