Phencyclidine Model of Frontal Cortical Dysfunction in Nonhuman Primates
The Neuroscientist August 1, 2000 J. David Jentsch, Jane R. Taylor, Robert H. Roth
Long-term use of drugs like phencyclidine (PCP), which block NMDA glutamate receptors, can produce schizophrenia-like symptoms in people and abnormal behavior in animals. This review evaluates how well PCP-induced animal behaviors model human psychotic disorders and presents a hypothesis about PCP's effects on the prefrontal cortex. The behavioral and neurochemical changes caused by PCP suggest that altered interactions between glutamate and dopamine systems in the prefrontal cortex may contribute to the cognitive problems seen in schizophrenia.