Naming the drugs we use: neuroscience-based nomenclature, a helpful innovation

Many of the drugs we use in psychiatry are referred to by outdated or confusing names, for instance ‘second generation’ (or worse still, ‘atypical’) antipsychotic, or terms such as ‘noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressants’ and ‘noradrenergic reuptake inhibitors’ for drugs for depression. Moreover, new drugs that are developed are referred to according to these disorder-based categories and then found to be effective in another disorder. Sometimes drugs called ‘antipsychotics’ are prescribed in bipolar disorder and those called ‘antidepressants’ are routinely prescribed for anxiety disorders. This causes confusion for patients and may affect adherence