Reversal of Phencyclidine Effects by a Group II Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Agonist in Rats

Glutamatergic abnormalities have been associated with several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and addiction. Group II metabotropic glutamate receptors were targeted to normalize glutamatergic disruptions associated with an animal model of schizophrenia, the phencyclidine model. An agonist of this group of receptors, at a dose that was without effects on spontaneous activity and corticolimbic dopamine neurotransmission, attenuated the disruptive effects of phencyclidine on working memory, stereotypy, locomotion, and cortical glutamate efflux. This behavioral reversal occurred in spite of sustained dopamine hyperactivity. Thus, targeting this group of receptors may present a nondopaminergic therapeutic strategy for treatment of psychiatric disorders.