The fourth edition of this highly successful book incorporates the latest developments in the rapidly expanding field of psychopharmacology. It provides an overview of today’s psychopharmaceuticals, their therapeutic uses, adverse effects and limitations. An account of the history of psychopharmacology is followed by detailed descriptions of current research in animals and humans aimed at developing even more effective and safe medications. Concepts of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, including so–called mechanisms of action of psychopharmaceuticals, are explained. Advanced techniques such as SPECT, PET and fMRI and their uses in psychopharmacology research are described. The book also provides a critical discussion of the relationship between drug–based and non–drug therapies for mental disorders and addresses economic aspects of psychopharmacology. The author is a senior industrial psychopharmacologist and academic teacher at the Universities of Basel and Fribourg...