Development of novel antipsychotic drugs

The development of the current generation of antipsychotics has depended on animal, biochemical and pharmacological models of the action of drugs disc overed serentipidously, They have focused on the dopamine hypothesis of sch izophrenia. More recent studies of the structural abnormalities in schizoph renia, coupled with an understanding of the genetics and developmental biol ogy of brain development, point to a new generation of novel medicines and therapies for patients with this disorder. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.