Phencyclidine in the social interaction test: an animal model of schizophrenia with face and predictive validity.

Phencyclidine (PCP) produces effects in rats that resemble both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. In the social interaction test, PCP dose-dependently caused stereotyped behavior and social withdrawal. Antipsychotic drugs selectively reduced these PCP-induced behaviors, while non-antipsychotic drugs did not. These findings suggest that PCP effects in the rat social interaction test may serve as a model of schizophrenia symptoms with face and predictive validity, useful for testing new antipsychotic compounds.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Phencyclidine (PCP) is a hallucinogenic drug that can mimic several aspects of the schizophrenic symptomatology in healthy volunteers. In a series of studies PCP was administered to rats to determine whether it was possible to develop an animal model of the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The rats were tested in the social interaction test and it was found that PCP dose-dependently induces stereotyped behaviour and social withdrawal, which may correspond to certain aspects of the positive and negative symptoms, respectively. The effects of PCP could be reduced selectively by antipsychotic drug treatment, whereas drugs lacking antipsychotic effects did not alleviate the PCP-induced behaviours. Together these findings indicate that PCP effects in the rat social interaction test may be a model of the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia with face and predictive validity and that it may be useful for the evaluation of novel antipsychotic compounds.