ABSTRACT
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY is a branch of science which studies the behavioural effects of drugs. It is not primarily concerned with the chemical properties of the drugs in question, or the site of action of the drugs, or the complex physiological and endocrinological consequences of their administration. No doubt in due course it will be possible to unify the knowledge gained of the effects of drugs by pharmacologists, physiologists, biochemists, and psychologists, but at the present time such a unification appears very far off indeed, and it is clear that psychopharmacology cannot expect very much help from other disciplines. To say this is not to imply that we should neglect the established facts of other sciences; it is merely to remind ourselves that behavioural effects of drugs have to be studied empirically and cannot be predicted at present from physiological or biochemical principles.
