title: Memantine reverses social withdrawal induced by ketamine in rats.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of memantine on schizophrenia-like symptoms in a ketamine-induced social withdrawal model in rats. We examined therapeutic effects of memantine, an NMDA antagonist, and haloperidol, a classic antipsychotic drug, on this behavioral model. Administration of memantine (10 or 15 mg·kg(-1)) significantly reduced ketamine-induced social withdrawal, and this effect was more effective than that of haloperidol (0.25 mg·kg(-1)) by restoring the social interaction between rats with no modification in general motor activity. These results suggest that memantine could have a therapeutic potential for schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neurofisiología, Escuela De Ciencias Biomédicas y Tecnológicas Dr. Guillermo Mujica Sevilla, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Carabobo, Valencia, Venezuela. ; Hospital Dr. Rafael González Plaza, Departamento de Neuropsiquiatría. INSALUD, Gobernación del Estado Carabobo. Edo. Carabobo 2001, Venezuela.
authors.forename: Ezequiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uribe
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Landaeta
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wix
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eblen
keywords: NMDA; experimental psychosis; haloperidol; ketamine; social interaction test