A Review of NMDA Receptors and the Phencyclidine Model of Schizophrenia
Pharmacotherapy January 2, 1996 Sheri A. Thornberg, S. R. Saklad
Phencyclidine-induced psychosis more completely reflects the pathophysiology of schizophrenia than current models of drug-induced psychosis. Phencyclidine decreases glutamatergic neurotransmission, which reduces GABA release from the nucleus accumbens, striatum, and hippocampus; may inhibit tonic dopamine release from those regions, increasing phasic dopamine reactivity; and decreases long-term potentiation. Glutamatergic system dysfunction may be involved, but pharmacologic manipulation has not revealed a clear mechanism.