1
|
Li D, Pan Q, Xiao Y, Hu K. Advances in the study of phencyclidine-induced schizophrenia-like animal models and the underlying neural mechanisms. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 10:65. [PMID: 39039065 PMCID: PMC11263595 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-024-00485-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 07/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a chronic, severe mental disorder with heterogeneous clinical manifestations and unknown etiology. Research on SZ has long been limited by the low reliability of and ambiguous pathogenesis in schizophrenia animal models. Phencyclidine (PCP), a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, rapidly induces both positive and negative symptoms of SZ as well as stable SZ-related cognitive impairment in rodents. However, the neural mechanism underlying PCP-induced SZ-like symptoms is not fully understood. Nondopaminergic pathophysiology, particularly excessive glutamate release induced by NMDAR hypofunction in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), may play a key role in the development of PCP-induced SZ-like symptoms. In this review, we summarize studies on the behavioral and metabolic effects of PCP and the cellular and circuitary targets of PCP in the PFC and hippocampus (HIP). PCP is thought to target the ventral HIP-PFC pathway more strongly than the PFC-VTA pathway and thalamocortical pathway. Systemic PCP administration might preferentially inhibit gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons in the vHIP and in turn lead to hippocampal pyramidal cell disinhibition. Excitatory inputs from the HIP may trigger sustained, excessive and pathological PFC pyramidal neuron activation to mediate various SZ-like symptoms. In addition, astrocyte and microglial activation and oxidative stress in the cerebral cortex or hippocampus have been observed in PCP-induced models of SZ. These findings perfect the hypoglutamatergic hypothesis of schizophrenia. However, whether these effects direct the consequences of PCP administration and how about the relationships between these changes induced by PCP remain further elucidation through rigorous, causal and direct experimental evidence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dabing Li
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southwestern Medical University, LuZhou, 646000, China.
| | - Qiangwen Pan
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southwestern Medical University, LuZhou, 646000, China
| | - Yewei Xiao
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southwestern Medical University, LuZhou, 646000, China
| | - Kehui Hu
- Department of rehabilitation Medicine, SuiNing Central Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, SuiNing, 629000, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cothren TO, Evonko CJ, MacQueen DA. Olfactory Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: Evaluating Olfactory Abilities Across Species. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023; 63:363-392. [PMID: 36059004 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2022_390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Though understudied relative to perturbations in the auditory and visual domains, olfactory dysfunction is a common symptom of schizophrenia. Over the past two decades, the availability of standardized assessments to quantify human olfactory abilities, and enhance understanding of the neurophysiology supporting olfaction, has increased, enabling a more thorough characterization of these deficits. In contrast to other psychiatric conditions for which olfactory dysfunction has been observed (e.g., major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease), the impairments observed in schizophrenia are particularly global and profound. At this level, such deficits in olfactory abilities likely impact the enjoyment of food, detection of environmental hazards, and influence social relationships. More broadly, the study of olfactory phenotypes in schizophrenia presents new avenues for detection of those at-risk for the condition, identification of therapeutic targets for treatment development, and for the characterization of novel animal models relevant to schizophrenia and psychosis. This review will consider the olfactory performance of individuals with schizophrenia in domains for which standardized assessments are available (odor sensitivity, discrimination, identification, and memory). Paradigms available for assessing these abilities in rodents will also be discussed with the aim of facilitating translation. Thus, future studies will be able to include cross-species translation of mechanisms relevant to olfactory function and cognition, what has gone awry in the disease state, and test potential therapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Taitum O Cothren
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA
| | - Christopher J Evonko
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA
| | - David A MacQueen
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Tanqueiro SR, Mouro FM, Ferreira CB, Freitas CF, Fonseca-Gomes J, Simões do Couto F, Sebastião AM, Dawson N, Diógenes MJ. Sustained NMDA receptor hypofunction impairs brain-derived neurotropic factor signalling in the PFC, but not in the hippocampus, and disturbs PFC-dependent cognition in mice. J Psychopharmacol 2021; 35:730-743. [PMID: 34008450 DOI: 10.1177/02698811211008560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cognitive deficits profoundly impact on the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia. Alterations in brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signalling, which regulates synaptic function through the activation of full-length tropomyosin-related kinase B receptors (TrkB-FL), are implicated in the aetiology of schizophrenia, as is N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA-R) hypofunction. However, whether NMDA-R hypofunction contributes to the disrupted BDNF signalling seen in patients remains unknown. AIMS The purpose of this study was to characterise BDNF signalling and function in a preclinical rodent model relevant to schizophrenia induced by prolonged NMDA-R hypofunction. METHODS Using the subchronic phencyclidine (PCP) model, we performed electrophysiology approaches, molecular characterisation and behavioural analysis. RESULTS The data showed that prolonged NMDA-R antagonism, induced by subchronic PCP treatment, impairs long-term potentiation (LTP) and the facilitatory effect of BDNF upon LTP in the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) of adult mice. Additionally, TrkB-FL receptor expression is decreased in the PFC of these animals. By contrast, these changes were not present in the hippocampus of PCP-treated mice. Moreover, BDNF levels were not altered in the hippocampus or PFC of PCP-treated mice. Interestingly, these observations are paralleled by impaired performance in PFC-dependent cognitive tests in mice treated with PCP. CONCLUSIONS Overall, these data suggest that NMDA-R hypofunction induces dysfunctional BDNF signalling in the PFC, but not in the hippocampus, which may contribute to the PFC-dependent cognitive deficits seen in the subchronic PCP model. Additionally, these data suggest that targeting BDNF signalling may be a mechanism to improve PFC-dependent cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara R Tanqueiro
- Instituto de Farmacologia e Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.,Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Francisco M Mouro
- Instituto de Farmacologia e Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.,Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Catarina B Ferreira
- Instituto de Farmacologia e Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.,Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Céline F Freitas
- Instituto de Farmacologia e Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.,Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - João Fonseca-Gomes
- Instituto de Farmacologia e Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.,Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Frederico Simões do Couto
- Instituto de Farmacologia e Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.,Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.,Serviço de Psiquiatria e Saúde Mental, Hospital de Santa Maria - Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana M Sebastião
- Instituto de Farmacologia e Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.,Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Neil Dawson
- Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Maria J Diógenes
- Instituto de Farmacologia e Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.,Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|