Differential protective effects of typical versus atypical antipsychotic drugs in a phencyclidine microelectrode array model of schizophrenia
Timo Faustmann, Stephan Theiss, Philipp Görtz et al.
Phencyclidine (PCP) suppresses spontaneous activity in murine cortical networks in a concentration-dependent manner, reducing spike rate and burst peak firing rate. Pre-incubation with antipsychotic drugs (aripiprazole, clozapine, haloperidol) shifts the PCP concentration-response curve rightward, indicating a protective effect. The atypical antipsychotics aripiprazole and clozapine show 20- to 30-fold greater protective potency than haloperidol (6-fold), with clozapine being the most potent. The authors propose this microelectrode array setup as a simple electrophysiological model for testing pharmaceuticals against schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.