Are N- methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) and phencyclidine (PCP) receptors always functionally coupled to each other?
Phencyclidine (PCP) markedly affects many neurotransmitters in the central nervous system and produces many of its behavioral and pharmacological effects through specific PCP receptors. Electrophysiological, receptor autoradiographic, behavioral and neurochemical studies have indicated a tight functional coupling between PCP and N- methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) receptors, a subclass of glutamate receptors. Marked similarity between the biochemical and behavioral effects of PCP agonists and NMDA receptor antagonists led to the proposal that PCP may mediate its actions through its interaction with the NMDA receptor-associated ion channel. However, recent studies have revealed that not all PCP receptors are functionally coupled to NMDA receptors.
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CNS Diseases Research, G. D. Searle & Co., Mail Zone AASE, c/o Monsanto Company, 700 Chesterfield Village Parkway, St Louis, MO 63198, U.S.A.
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