Clinical Pharmacology in Psychiatry: From Molecular Studies to Clinical Reality

The chapters of this volume illustrate the continuity from experimental research to clinical utilization of psychotropic drugs. Two sections are devoted to the development of new principles in drug innovation, spanning molecular and clinical studies, and the clinical significance of the new generation of receptor-selective psychotropic drugs. Other sections summarize the most current information about genetic polymorphism in the metabolism of psychotropic drugs, clinical pharmacokinetics, plasma drug level monitoring and strategies for finding optimal drug doses. Each chapter can be read as a freestanding article or in conjunction with the accompanying chapters. This volume, the latest in a series of publications reporting on clinical pharmacology in psychiatry, makes a valuable contribution towards bridging the gap between experimental and clinical research in psychopharmacology and routine problems in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.

This volume collects the invited lectures and some selected contributions presented at the 5th International Meeting on Clinical Pharmacology in Psychiatry, which was held 26-30 June 1988 at the University of Troms0, Norway. The 24 h of daylight at the northernmost university in the world al- lowed for long, pleasant and productive sessions. The title of the conference as well as a number of the topics covered represent a continuation of four previous conferences, the first held in Chicago in 1979 and organized by the late Earl U sdin and colleagues. The earlier conferences have been documented in Clinical Pharmacology in Psychiatry, edited by E. Usdin (Elsevier, New York, 1981), Clinical Pharmacology in Psychiatry. Neuroleptic and Antidepressant Research, edited by E. Usdin, S. G. Dahl, L. F. Gram and o. Lingjrerde (Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London, 1981), Clinical Pharmacology in Psychiatry. Bridging the Experimental-Therapeutic Gap, edited by LF. Gram, E. Usdin, S.G. Dahl, P. Kragh-Sorensen, P. L. Morselli and F. Sjoqvist (Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London, 1983), and Clinical Pharmacology in Psychiatry. Selectivity in Psychotropic Drug Action - Promises or Problems? edited by S. G. Dahl, L.F. Gram, S.M. Paul and W.Z. Potter (Psychopharmacology Series 3, Springer, Heidelberg, 1987).