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 discovered serentipidously. They have focused on the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. More recent studies of the structural abnormalities in schizophrenia, coupled with an understanding of the genetics and developmental biology of brain development, point to a new generation of novel medicines and therapies for patients with this disorder.