DO ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS CHANGE BRAIN STRUCTURE?
SUMMARY: Antipsychotic drugs, used to treat schizophrenia and manic-depressive disorder (bipolar disorder), change some aspects of brain structure, as do drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and other brain diseases. Some of the brain changes appear to be related to the efficacy of the antipsychotic drugs, while other changes are probably related to the side effects of the drugs. Studying the brain changes may eventually lead to a better understanding of how they work and the prediction of which individuals are most likely to respond to which drugs and which patients are most likely to develop side effects, include tardive dyskinesia. Introduction The publication of a paper by Dr. Paul Harrison, “Review: The Neuropathological Effects of Antipsychotic Drugs”1 has focused attention on this area of current research. Some opponents of the use of antipsychotic medication have misunderstood such research and have argued that brain changes prove that antipsychotic drugs are dang
