Clozapine, quetiapine, and aripiprazole are examples of which type of antipsychotics?

• A. Prolactin-sparing antipsychotics
• B. Prolactin-raising antipsychotics
• C. Typical antipsychotics
• D. Serotonin-dopamine antagonists

Answer: (A)

Understanding how prolactin is affected by antipsychotics clarifies this. Dopamine normally inhibits prolactin Release; most typical antipsychotics block D2 receptors in the tuberoinfundibular pathway, removing that inhibition and raising prolactin. Atypical antipsychotics often avoid this rise because they block serotonin 5-HT2A receptors more than they block D2 in that pathway, or they only partially block D2. Clozapine and quetiapine are strongly prolactin-sparing, and aripiprazole, being a partial D2 agonist, tends to maintain or even decrease prolactin levels. So these drugs fit the prolactin-sparing category best.

Labeling them as typical antipsychotics would be inaccurate due to their prolactin profiles. Describing them as serotonin-dopamine antagonists is correct in pharmacologic terms, but the question’s focus on prolactin effects makes prolactin-sparing the more precise descriptor for this set.