title: The significance of dopamine for the mode of action of neuroleptics and the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.
abstract: Animal experiments have demonstrated the likehood that all known neuroleptics inhibit transmission in central CA-ergic systems, regardless of their chemical structure and via different mechanisms. For clinical psychiatry this fact prompts a number of questions: (1) is this phenomenon also to be found in human individuals; (2) if so, is it of importance for the clinical (side) effects of neuroleptics; (3) do patients with (schizophrenic) psychoses show signs of central CA-ergic hyperactivity? This article presents a survey of clinical research focused on these questions which, for the sake of brevity, is confined to DA metabolism. The available data indicate the plausibility of a correlation between inhibition of DA-ergic transmission on the one hand, and on the other hand the therapeutic effects of neuroleptics and the occurrence of hypokinetic-rigid symptoms. The hypothesis that DA-ergic hyperactivity is an important pathogenetic mechanism in schizophrenic psychoses can be based only on indirect arguments; direct studies of the DA metabolism have so far failed to reveal supporting evidence. The possible causes of this failure are discussed.
mesh_terms: D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D006801:Humans; D011339:Probenecid / Q000378:metabolism; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D014149:Tranquilizing Agents / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014149:Tranquilizing Agents; D011339:Probenecid; D004298:Dopamine; D006719:Homovanillic Acid