Drug models of schizophrenia.
Hannah Steeds, Robin Carhart-Harris, James Stone
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology February 1, 2015 DOI: 10.1177/2045125314557797 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | General (review of drug models of schizophrenia) |
| Topics | Cannabis Ketamine LSD Psilocybin Salvia divinorum |
| Keywords | Pcp Amphetamine Drug models Kappa opioid Schizophrenia treatment Neurobiology of psychosis |
| Citations | 132 |
| Key findings | Pharmacological drug models targeting multiple neurotransmitter systems can model aspects of schizophrenia, and understanding their interactions is important for understanding pathogenesis. |
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a complex mental health disorder with positive, negative and cognitive symptom domains. Approximately one third of patients are resistant to currently available medication. New therapeutic targets and a better understanding of the basic biological processes that drive pathogenesis are needed in order to develop therapies that will improve quality of life for these patients. Several drugs that act on neurotransmitter systems in the brain have been suggested to model aspects of schizophrenia in animals and in man. In this paper, we selectively review findings from dopaminergic, glutamatergic, serotonergic, cannabinoid, GABA, cholinergic and kappa opioid pharmacological drug models to evaluate their similarity to schizophrenia. Understanding the interactions between these different neurotransmitter systems and their relationship with symptoms will be an important step towards building a coherent hypothesis for the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.