TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - General Principles of Central Nervous System Pharmacology A1 - Ciccone, Charles D. PY - 2016 T2 - Pharmacology in Rehabilitation AB - The central nervous system (CNS) is responsible for controlling bodily functions, and it is the center for behavioral and intellectual abilities. Neurons within the CNS are organized into highly complex patterns that mediate information through synaptic interactions. Clinicians prescribe CNS drugs to modify the activity of these neurons in order to treat specific disorders or to alter the general level of arousal of the CNS. This chapter presents a simplified introduction to the organization of the CNS and the general drug strategies medical practitioners use to alter activity within the brain and spinal cord. This chapter is not intended to be an extensive review of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology; the references at the end of this chapter include several excellent resources on this topic.1–3 However, this chapter will review certain neuroanatomical and neurophysiological concepts that will help you understand how drugs can affect CNS function. These concepts will likewise be important when we examine the actions of specific CNS drugs in the next several chapters in this book. SN - PB - F. A. Davis Company CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/11/08 UR - fadavisat.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1135034796 ER -