title: Disruption of medial prefrontal synchrony in the subchronic phencyclidine model of schizophrenia in rats.
abstract: Subchronic treatment with the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist phencyclidine (PCP) produces behavioral abnormalities in rodents which are considered a reliable pharmacological model of neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Alterations in prefrontal neuronal firing after acute PCP administration have been observed, however enduring changes in prefrontal activity after subchronic PCP treatment have not been studied. To address this we have recorded cortical oscillations and unit responses in putative cortical pyramidal cells in subchronic PCP-treated rats (2mg/kg twice daily for 7 days) under urethane anesthesia. We found that this regimen reduced theta oscillations in the medial prefrontal cortex. It further produced abnormal cortical synchronization in putative cortical pyramidal cells. These alterations in prefrontal cortex functioning may contribute to cognitive deficits seen in subchronic NMDA antagonist pre-treated animals in prefrontal-dependent tasks.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: A M J
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stubbendorff
authors.affiliation: Neurophysiology Laboratory, Neuroscience Area, CIMA, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valencia
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, United Kingdom. Electronic address: tvg3@le.ac.uk.
authors.forename: T V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Gerdjikov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003344:Cortical Synchronization / Q000187:drug effects; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D010622:Phencyclidine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D010622:Phencyclidine
keywords: PCP; medial prefrontal cortex; neurophysiology; phencyclidine; schizophrenia; theta oscillations