When I reviewed the first edition of this excellent encyclopedia back in 2011 (RR 2011/228), I commended the editors and publishers for their efforts in producing an up-to-date reference tool. I noted, however, that “it will need replacing eventually. Providing a reference service in this subject area is not cheap”.
Here then, barely five years later, comes the expected update. About a third larger than the first edition, with an extra editor, a couple of new section editors and a number of extra contributors, these two volumes are barely portable in their printed form. The two together weigh nearly nine pounds on my kitchen scales, and will set purchasers back about $1,000. I assume that most users nowadays will be using the electronic version where the sheer bulk will be less of an issue, though still a matter for consideration.
There have been very substantial developments in research methods into drug actions and interactions over the past five years, and, to a lesser extent, developments in their clinical applications. These have been quite substantial enough to justify a new edition, and to justify the new edition being so very much larger than its predecessor. There are some techniques described that I had never even heard of, such as optogenetics (the introduction of light-sensitive proteins – opsins – into cells within freely moving animals, to permit real-time observation and control of neural circuits). Just from the description here I can see the effect this novel technique will have on research and on the development of targeted drug treatments. On the clinical side, it is noticeable that there have been few major new drugs released: drug treatments for most disorders of the nervous system remain unsatisfactory. There have, however, been developments in self-administration, etc., which are worth recording, and the classification of mental disorders has been changed by the publication of the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic & Statistical Manual [DSM-5]. I get the impression that the editors and some of the authors share my misgivings as regards DSM-5 (see RR 2014/102), but all of the clinical entries in this encyclopedia have had to be revised to keep in step with it.
I have the feeling that these are very exciting times to be involved in pharmacology in general, and psychopharmacological research in particular. My impression is that major new developments, or even breakthroughs, are imminent. If this is the case, then a new, and even larger, edition of this book will be needed within the next five years or so.
In my review of the first edition, I mentioned various other psychopharmacology books that libraries might find useful. It is noticeable that quite a number of those that I mentioned have similarly produced new editions in the past few years. The Handbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for Therapists, for example, is now in its seventh edition (Preston et al., 2013); the Manual of Clinical Psychopharmacology is now in its eighth (Schatzberg and DeBattista, 2015); and I have lost count of the new subdivisions of Stahl's Essential Psychopharmacology – the last one I remember noticing was a new edition of the prescriber's guide (Stahl, 2014). Several of the other books I mentioned then have new editions in the pipeline, and there are a number of new useful texts available. Psychopharmacology does not come cheap, and neither does providing a library service for it.
The bulk of this encyclopedia consists of thoroughly referenced essays of up to four or five pages in length, arranged strictly in alphabetical order, on individual drugs; groups of drugs; descriptions of fundamental psychological and biological processes affected by psychoactive drugs; disorders considered to be treatable with drugs (and a few that are not); and discussions of methods and techniques. These essays are signed by an international group of experts (and, in this case, both the word “international” and the word “experts” are justified – the list is full of people I have heard of, from all around the world). Interspersed with these are shorter unsigned definitions, presumably by the section editors. I have not noticed any errors: I have no doubt that an expert would be able to scrape up one or two minor mistakes if we could find a world expert who wasn't actually involved in writing the book, but by and large this can be taken to be an authoritative reference source.
I have, inevitably, noticed a few omissions. Having just been examining the International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality in the columns of this issue (RR 2015/294), I naturally turned to the subject of sex. This encyclopedia has a page and a half on the topic of drugs reducing sexual motivation, which includes some historical information, but neither encyclopedia mentions the “bromides” which were added to military tea rations in the trenches in World War I, to reduce the troops' sexual urges. What were they? Did they work? Why aren't they mentioned? Similarly, the entries on caffeine here mention it being “added to a variety of soft drinks” but do not mention it being added to alcoholic drinks. I would have noted Buckfast Tonic Wine as an example. “Buckie”, the favored drink of Glasgow street-fighting gangs, is said to contain six times as much caffeine as Coca-Cola. Perhaps, they don't sell Buckie in America (where the author of the entry on caffeine intoxication works) or Italy (where the authors of the main entry on caffeine come from). Finally, I couldn't find any mention of BSE, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Kuru or any other prion-based disorders. Admittedly, no pharmacological treatments have yet been found for these, but the same goes for various other disorders that do rate a mention, and even negatives do need recording. These are minor quibbles, however. By and large, this can be taken to be a comprehensive reference source.
My main criticism is of the enormous waste of space. The book could have been made a lot smaller (and presumably cheaper). There is no reason for wasting over 50 pages in duplicating the accumulated prefaces, lists of contributors, etc., in both volumes, when they are only available as a set. Having listed the contributors' qualifications and places of work once, it surely is not necessary to republish them under every entry. Someone who has contributed to half-a-dozen entries will have three or four widely spaced lines of accreditation reprinted half-a-dozen times in the text and twice in the introductory material – in effect, a wasted page. More waste of space can be found in the definitions. Thus, for example, one of the first entries in the book is an unsigned definition of Abuse Liability, sub-headed Definition, with 14 lines of text, plus synonyms and cross-references. This is followed by a signed entry on Abuse Liability Evaluation which, after eight lines listing the authors and their places of work, kicks off with a sub-headed Definition “The abuse liability of a drug or a class of drugs …” giving more or less the same information in another 16 lines of text. Having two definitions of the same thing on one page is silly. One clear definition, and one listing of the authors' places of work, would have been sufficient, and would have made the book considerably shorter.
Nevertheless this is, as before, a well-presented, well thought-out, up-to-date reference book on an important subject, which can be thoroughly recommended to its potential readers. It remains to be considered who these potential readers are. The answer, unfortunately, is that there are not very many of them. The authors use complex scientific or biomedical terms and abbreviations. All the main entries are thoroughly referenced to specialist refereed scientific journals rather than providing guidance to further reading for general enquirers. This book is therefore not suitable for public library purposes. There is a widespread public interest and a (sometimes quite justifiable) public distrust of drug treatments in psychiatry. Public libraries do, therefore, need to look up more accessible up-to-date information sources on that topic, and need to be prepared to discard older books. As already stated, catering for information needs on psychopharmacology is not cheap.
Undergraduates in medicine, pharmacology or the neurosciences would find occasional use for this book, though there are useful (and cheaper) texts available that are specifically designed for student use. All academic libraries catering for postgraduate study or research in the neurosciences in general, and psychopharmacology in particular, can be warmly recommended to consider this book for acquisition, and should, like me, look forward eagerly to the next edition.
