The promise and pitfalls of intranasally administering psychopharmacological agents for the treatment of psychiatric disorders
Abstract
Accumulating research demonstrates the potential of intranasal delivery of psychopharmacological agents to treat a range of psychiatric disorders and symptoms. It is believed that intranasal administration offers both direct and indirect pathways to deliver psychopharmacological agents to the central nervous system. This administration route provides a unique opportunity to repurpose both old drugs for new uses and improve currently approved drugs that are indicated for other administration routes. Despite this promise, however, the physiology of intranasal delivery and related assumptions behind the bypassing of the blood brain barrier is seldom considered in detail in clinical trials and translational research. In this review, we describe the current state of the art in intranasal psychopharmacological agent delivery research and current challenges using this administration route, and discuss important aspects of nose-to-brain delivery that may improve the efficacy of these new therapies in future research. We also highlight current gaps in the literature and suggest how research can directly examine the assumptions of nose-to-brain delivery of psychopharmacological agents in humans.
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There are a number of methodological obstacles, such as individual differences in the nasal cavity physiology, the nasal spray formulations used, and the devices used to deliver the drug, that need to be considered.
“For instance, there are a number of methodological obstacles, such as individual differences in the nasal cavity physiology, the nasal spray formulations used, and the devices used to deliver the drug, that need to be considered (Quintana et al., 2016).”
From Meta-analysis of the effects of intranasal oxytocin on interpretation and expression of emotions (2017) · cites this paper as Quintana et al., 2016
Intranasal oxytocin is thought to enter the brain via the olfactory bulbs.
“intranasal oxytocin is thought to enter the brain via the olfactory bulbs69”
From Oxytocin pathway gene networks in the human brain (2019) · cites this paper as [69]
Our study may help facilitate efforts to better understand oxytocin treatment efficacy by identifying targets for oxytocin receptor engagement.
“our study may help facilitate efforts to better understand oxytocin treatment efficacy as it identifies targets for oxytocin receptor engagement, which can facilitate dose-ranging studies69,70.”
From Oxytocin pathway gene networks in the human brain (2019) · cites this paper as [69]
The upper-posterior region of the nasal cavity is innervated by olfactory and trigeminal nerve fibers that are believed to be key targets for nose-to-brain delivery.
“which is innervated by the olfactory and trigeminal nerve fibers that are believed to be key targets for nose-to-brain delivery.22”
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References 150 · Cited by 107
- Authors
- Quintana, D. S., Guastella, A. J., Westlye, L. T., & Andreassen, O. A.
- Affiliations
- Oslo University Hospital (NO)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Quintana, D S
- Venue
- Molecular Psychiatry
- Published
- 2015-11-10
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 29-38
- ISSN
- 1359-4184 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-5578
- OpenAlex
- W2196513128
- Semantic Scholar
- 9a7f87ee28460abbf3064e02f2a5d3d5c2edd54b
- Cited by
- 107
- References
- 150
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 6
- FWCI
- 1.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Molecular Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Advanced Drug Delivery Systems
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Inhalation and Respiratory Drug Delivery
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Head and Neck Surgical Oncology
- Keywords
- intranasal drug delivery, nose-to-brain delivery, mental illness, blood-brain barrier bypass, psychopharmacological agents, drug repurposing, brain drug delivery, translational research
- MeSH terms
- Administration, Intranasal, Animals, Mental Disorders, Humans, Psychotropic Drugs
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