The amino acid L-lysine blocks the disruptive effect of phencyclidine on prepulse inhibition in mice.
Psychopharmacology May 1, 2007 Erik Pålsson, Kim Fejgin, Caroline Wass et al.
Cognitive and attentional deficits in schizophrenia, such as impaired sensory filtering measured by prepulse inhibition (PPI), can be modeled in animals using the drug phencyclidine (PCP), which disrupts PPI. Nitric oxide (NO) may mediate some of PCP's effects, as NO synthase inhibitors block PCP-induced deficits. This study tested whether blocking L-arginine transport—a step in NO production—with L-lysine could prevent PCP-induced PPI disruption in mice. Subchronic, and to some extent acute, L-lysine pretreatment blocked the PCP-induced PPI deficit without affecting baseline PPI. The results support the idea that PCP's effects in the brain involve NO and that L-arginine transport may regulate NO production.