Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide

Neuroleptics

Matthew E. Peters, M.D., Sujin Lee Weinstein, Pharm.D.,BCPP, Paul M. Kim, M.D., Ph.D.
Neuroleptics is a topic covered in the Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide.

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DEFINITION

  • A class of drugs, also known as antipsychotics, primarily used to treat psychosis (i.e., hallucinations, delusions, and thought disorder)
  • The word neuroleptic is derived from the Greek words for nerve and affecting (leptikos, which means seizing).
    • The neuroleptics were originally understood to reduce the intensity of nerve function.
    • They used to be called major tranquillizers.

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Last updated: December 9, 2014