Neuropsychopharmacological Science 101

Neuropsychopharmacology

The study of how chemicals affect the functioning of the brain that produces behaviors.
The brain is composed of networks of neurons in which the connections are established by the neurochemicals (neurotransmitters).
These neurotransmitters either excite or inhibit the neurons, thus they provide the transmission of signals for communicating between neurons.
Psychiatric medicine essentially alters these neurochemicals such that they can restore the function of the neural network by re-establishing the appropriate connections of the network.