This is a throwback to my undergrad days in Neuroscience, but I believe it's a dopamine partial agonist. The key to understanding its utility as an antipsychotic is that most schizophrenics have decreased DA neurotransmission in the mesocortical pathway (negative symptoms), but increased DA neurotransmission in the mesolimbic pathway (positive symptoms). Aripiprazole helps mediate both decreased and increased dopaminergic transmission - like adding lukewarm water to an ice bath to warm it up, and lukewarm water to a hot bath to cool it down