A pharmacological model for psychosis based on N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor hypofunction: molecular, cellular, functional and behavioral abnormalities.
Biological psychiatry April 15, 2006 Dan Rujescu, Andreas Bender, Martin Keck et al.
A chronic, low-dose application of MK-801, a selective noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, in animals produces changes that parallel those seen in schizophrenia. The treatment altered NMDA receptor subunit expression and reduced the number of GABAergic parvalbumin-positive interneurons, matching post-mortem findings from schizophrenic patients. This led to altered inhibition of pyramidal cells and cognitive deficits similar to those in schizophrenia. The findings suggest this animal model may help understand psychosis and aid in developing new treatments.