and why would someone move from one to the other?
In: 2
All three of these medications are through to primarily regulate different neurotransmitters.
Antidepressants are thought to regulate serotonin; that is, they increase the levels. This is usually used for depression spectrum disorders which can range from things like premenstrual dysphoric disorder to of course, major depression.
Antipsychotic are thought to regulate dopamine; they decrease dopamine. These drugs are used to treat psychotic disorder which can include things like schizophrenia or even manic bipolar disorders.
Mood stabilizers are a bit different, their mechanism isn’t as well understood. There are 2 main drugs, lithium and valproate. Lithium is thought to increase inhibition and decrease excitation in the brain. Valproate is also thought to decrease excitation.
What’s important, is that there’s a lot of very complicated interplay between all of these neurotransmitters and how they interact/cause psychiatric symptoms. Also, these drugs can often be used for other purposes including symptoms in dementia, appetite loss, etc. There’s also a lot we don’t know and we’re constantly learning new things everyday!
TLDR; antidepressants = depression, antipsychotics= schizophrenia, mood stabilizers = bipolar
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