Phencyclidine, excitatory amino acids, psychiatry and drug abuse: Historical perspectives on clinical-laboratory interactions.
Acta neuropsychiatrica June 1, 1997 S R Zukin
Phencyclidine (PCP) was developed as a 'dissociative' general anesthetic, but early clinical trials showed that up to half of subjects experienced severe psychotic reactions during and after emergence from anesthesia. This observation ended PCP's use as an anesthetic and initiated a new era in neuroscience. Researchers recognized that PCP-induced psychosis closely resembled both the negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia, proposing it as a model for that illness. Years later, PCP emerged as a major drug of abuse, leading emergency rooms and psychiatric units to treat many patients whose symptoms were indistinguishable from schizophrenia until toxicology tests ruled it out. This natural experiment provided additional data and public-health impetus for research into PCP intoxication.