Effects of Antipsychotics on the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in a Phencyclidine Animal Model of Schizophrenia.
Cells August 26, 2024 Tatjana Nikolić, Milica Velimirović Bogosavljević, Tihomir Stojković et al. 6 citations
In a rat model of schizophrenia created by perinatal phencyclidine (PCP) exposure, antipsychotic treatment with haloperidol or clozapine reduced altered glucocorticoid receptor (GR) sensitivity in the brain. The study measured corticosterone levels and GR-related proteins (GR, pGR, HSP70, HSP90, FKBP51, and 11β-HSD) in different brain regions of adult male rats. Six groups were treated with PCP or saline on postnatal days 2, 6, 9, and 12; some groups then received haloperidol or clozapine from day 35 to 100. The findings indicate disturbances in the HPA axis in this schizophrenia model and suggest antipsychotics may have protective effects against such dysregulation.