Synonyms
Drug impact
Definition
Pharmacodynamics is a branch of pharmacology that studies how a drug acts on a living organism, including the pharmacologic response and the duration and magnitude of that response observed relative to the drug concentration. The drug interactions involve receptor binding, receptor sensitivity, postreceptor effects, and other related chemical reactions. Pharmacodynamics, along with pharmacokinetics, helps explain the relationship between the dose and the response of a particular drug. The pharmacodynamics of a drug can be altered by disorders, aging, and other chemicals or drugs. Physiological changes associated with the aging body can alter the response to medications. Changes in both the production of neurotransmitters and receptor sensitivity have the potential to lead to adverse reactions that are at times unpredictable. Thus, as receptor sensitivity or availability is altered, the drug effect is altered as well.
Cross-References
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References and Readings
Bush, S. S., & Martin, T. A. (2012). Geriatric psychopharmacology. Geriatric Neuropsychology Practice Essentials, 15(1), 401.
Franz, S. (1919). Review of vegetative neurology. Psychological Bulletin, 16(12), 411.
Maruff, P., Werth, J., Giordani, B., Caveney, A., Feltner, D., & Snyder, P. (2006). A statistical approach for classifying change in cognitive function in individuals following pharmacologic challenge: An example with alprazolam. Psychopharmacology, 186(1), 7–17.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Balamane, M., Kolakowsky-Hayner, S.A. (2018). Pharmacodynamics. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_1746
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_1746
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57110-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57111-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences