Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry

Michael Raymond Binder

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11

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Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry

Michael Raymond Binder

Published in American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (Volume 7, Issue 3)

Received: 13 August 2019 Accepted: 28 August 2019 Published: 16 September 2019

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Abstract

Despite the increasing burden of mental illness, social stigma and fears about the potential mind-altering effects of psychotropic drugs prevent most persons from seeking treatment. The problem is compounded by the high rate of diagnostic uncertainty in psychiatry and psychotropic drug labels that can be as confusing as the diagnosis. The terms “anticonvulsant” and “antipsychotic” often have little to do with what is being treated, and the replacement term “mood stabilizer” is inadequate because many patients for whom mood stabilizers are prescribed do not experience any significant mood instability. This calls for a more appropriate label for these psychotropic drugs. Anticonvulsants and antipsychotics have neuroregulatory effects, and converging lines of evidence suggest that most psychiatric disorders are rooted in an inherent hyperexcitability of the neurological system—the neurons won’t shut off. Based on these observations, I propose that the terms anticonvulsant, antipsychotic, and mood stabilizer be replaced with the more pharmacologically and pathophysiologically-related term “NEUROREGULATOR.” The adoption of this descriptive, user-friendly term by prescribing clinicians and dispensing pharmacists would help avoid patient confusion and improve medication compliance by helping patients conceptualize what these drugs do in the brain and how they might be working to relieve symptoms.

Published in	American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (Volume 7, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11
Page(s)	66-70
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Neuromodulators, Neuroregulators, Anticonvulsants, Antiepileptics, Antipsychotics, Mood Stabilizers, Major Tranquilizers, Psychotropic Drugs

References

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APA Style

Michael Raymond Binder. (2019). Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry. American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 7(3), 66-70. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11

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Michael Raymond Binder. Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry. Am. J. Clin. Exp. Med. 2019, 7(3), 66-70. doi: 10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11

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Michael Raymond Binder. Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry. Am J Clin Exp Med. 2019;7(3):66-70. doi: 10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11,
  author = {Michael Raymond Binder},
  title = {Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry},
  journal = {American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine},
  volume = {7},
  number = {3},
  pages = {66-70},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajcem.20190703.11},
  abstract = {Despite the increasing burden of mental illness, social stigma and fears about the potential mind-altering effects of psychotropic drugs prevent most persons from seeking treatment. The problem is compounded by the high rate of diagnostic uncertainty in psychiatry and psychotropic drug labels that can be as confusing as the diagnosis. The terms “anticonvulsant” and “antipsychotic” often have little to do with what is being treated, and the replacement term “mood stabilizer” is inadequate because many patients for whom mood stabilizers are prescribed do not experience any significant mood instability. This calls for a more appropriate label for these psychotropic drugs. Anticonvulsants and antipsychotics have neuroregulatory effects, and converging lines of evidence suggest that most psychiatric disorders are rooted in an inherent hyperexcitability of the neurological system—the neurons won’t shut off. Based on these observations, I propose that the terms anticonvulsant, antipsychotic, and mood stabilizer be replaced with the more pharmacologically and pathophysiologically-related term “NEUROREGULATOR.” The adoption of this descriptive, user-friendly term by prescribing clinicians and dispensing pharmacists would help avoid patient confusion and improve medication compliance by helping patients conceptualize what these drugs do in the brain and how they might be working to relieve symptoms.},
 year = {2019}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry
AU  - Michael Raymond Binder
Y1  - 2019/09/16
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11
T2  - American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
JF  - American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
JO  - American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
SP  - 66
EP  - 70
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8133
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11
AB  - Despite the increasing burden of mental illness, social stigma and fears about the potential mind-altering effects of psychotropic drugs prevent most persons from seeking treatment. The problem is compounded by the high rate of diagnostic uncertainty in psychiatry and psychotropic drug labels that can be as confusing as the diagnosis. The terms “anticonvulsant” and “antipsychotic” often have little to do with what is being treated, and the replacement term “mood stabilizer” is inadequate because many patients for whom mood stabilizers are prescribed do not experience any significant mood instability. This calls for a more appropriate label for these psychotropic drugs. Anticonvulsants and antipsychotics have neuroregulatory effects, and converging lines of evidence suggest that most psychiatric disorders are rooted in an inherent hyperexcitability of the neurological system—the neurons won’t shut off. Based on these observations, I propose that the terms anticonvulsant, antipsychotic, and mood stabilizer be replaced with the more pharmacologically and pathophysiologically-related term “NEUROREGULATOR.” The adoption of this descriptive, user-friendly term by prescribing clinicians and dispensing pharmacists would help avoid patient confusion and improve medication compliance by helping patients conceptualize what these drugs do in the brain and how they might be working to relieve symptoms.
VL  - 7
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Michael Raymond Binder

Department of Psychiatry, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Highland Park Hospital, Highland Park, USA

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Michael Raymond Binder. (2019). Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry. American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 7(3), 66-70. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11

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Michael Raymond Binder. Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry. Am. J. Clin. Exp. Med. 2019, 7(3), 66-70. doi: 10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11

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AMA Style

Michael Raymond Binder. Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry. Am J Clin Exp Med. 2019;7(3):66-70. doi: 10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11,
  author = {Michael Raymond Binder},
  title = {Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry},
  journal = {American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine},
  volume = {7},
  number = {3},
  pages = {66-70},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajcem.20190703.11},
  abstract = {Despite the increasing burden of mental illness, social stigma and fears about the potential mind-altering effects of psychotropic drugs prevent most persons from seeking treatment. The problem is compounded by the high rate of diagnostic uncertainty in psychiatry and psychotropic drug labels that can be as confusing as the diagnosis. The terms “anticonvulsant” and “antipsychotic” often have little to do with what is being treated, and the replacement term “mood stabilizer” is inadequate because many patients for whom mood stabilizers are prescribed do not experience any significant mood instability. This calls for a more appropriate label for these psychotropic drugs. Anticonvulsants and antipsychotics have neuroregulatory effects, and converging lines of evidence suggest that most psychiatric disorders are rooted in an inherent hyperexcitability of the neurological system—the neurons won’t shut off. Based on these observations, I propose that the terms anticonvulsant, antipsychotic, and mood stabilizer be replaced with the more pharmacologically and pathophysiologically-related term “NEUROREGULATOR.” The adoption of this descriptive, user-friendly term by prescribing clinicians and dispensing pharmacists would help avoid patient confusion and improve medication compliance by helping patients conceptualize what these drugs do in the brain and how they might be working to relieve symptoms.},
 year = {2019}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Introducing the Term “Neuroregulator” in Psychiatry
AU  - Michael Raymond Binder
Y1  - 2019/09/16
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11
T2  - American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
JF  - American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
JO  - American Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
SP  - 66
EP  - 70
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8133
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajcem.20190703.11
AB  - Despite the increasing burden of mental illness, social stigma and fears about the potential mind-altering effects of psychotropic drugs prevent most persons from seeking treatment. The problem is compounded by the high rate of diagnostic uncertainty in psychiatry and psychotropic drug labels that can be as confusing as the diagnosis. The terms “anticonvulsant” and “antipsychotic” often have little to do with what is being treated, and the replacement term “mood stabilizer” is inadequate because many patients for whom mood stabilizers are prescribed do not experience any significant mood instability. This calls for a more appropriate label for these psychotropic drugs. Anticonvulsants and antipsychotics have neuroregulatory effects, and converging lines of evidence suggest that most psychiatric disorders are rooted in an inherent hyperexcitability of the neurological system—the neurons won’t shut off. Based on these observations, I propose that the terms anticonvulsant, antipsychotic, and mood stabilizer be replaced with the more pharmacologically and pathophysiologically-related term “NEUROREGULATOR.” The adoption of this descriptive, user-friendly term by prescribing clinicians and dispensing pharmacists would help avoid patient confusion and improve medication compliance by helping patients conceptualize what these drugs do in the brain and how they might be working to relieve symptoms.
VL  - 7
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download