Dopamine agonist action of phencyclidine.
Synapse (New York, N.Y.) December 15, 2005 Philip Seeman, Mercedes Lasaga
Phencyclidine, a psychotomimetic drug often used to model psychosis, directly activates dopamine D2 receptors, consistent with the dopamine hypothesis of psychosis. In rat cultured anterior pituitary cells, phencyclidine inhibited prolactin release by 50% at a concentration of 4 nM, indicating a potent dopamine-like agonist effect. This finding suggests that phencyclidine's psychotomimetic action may involve direct functional effects on dopamine receptors, rather than solely through glutamate pathways.