Evolutionary Aspects of Neuropsychopharmacology

Abstract

Abstract Neuropsychopharmacology has advanced drug development and discovery as well as the understanding of the neuronal “machinery.” However, there is very little reference to the evolution of “neurotransmitters” or “biomodulators” and their systems in the literature. For example, the evolutionary history of central nervous systems, the how and why brains came to utilize certain molecules to improve and accelerate the transmission of information, is largely unrecognized. This chapter, therefore, provides an overview of the evolutionary history of “neurotransmitters” or “biomediators” and some of their related systems. It deals with the evolution and evolutionary constraints of cell communication and focuses, as an exemplar, on the evolutionary story of glutamate and its role in brain health and disease. Possible implications of an evolutionary perspective on neuropsychopharmacology for the understanding of the constraints of neuropsychotropic drug action and for the development of new agents for the treatment of psychiatric and neurological conditions are discussed.