Potentiation of DOM-induced stimulus control by non-competitive NMDA antagonists: a link between the glutamatergic and serotonergic hypotheses of schizophrenia.
Life sciences December 8, 2000 J C Winter, M Doat, R A Rabin
In rats trained to recognize the drug DOM (a hallucinogen), giving them NMDA receptor antagonists (PCP, dizocilpine, or ketamine) before DOM made DOM's effects stronger. DOM alone at a low dose produced 32% of responses indicating drug recognition, but when combined with the NMDA antagonists, responses rose to 73-84%. The NMDA antagonists alone produced only 13-36% drug-like responses. The findings suggest that blocking NMDA glutamate receptors enhances DOM's effects, and the authors propose that drug discrimination techniques could help integrate theories about the causes of psychotic disorders.