Am J Psychiatry 1996; 153:104-106
Copyright © 1996 by American Psychiatric Association
The thalamus as a site of action of antipsychotic drugs
BM Cohen and W Wan
Mailman Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02178, USA.
OBJECTIVE: Because recent data suggest that there are abnormalities of the
thalamus in schizophrenia, the authors tested the effects of antipsychotic
drugs on thalamic sites. METHOD: Nine rats were given acute doses of the
typical neuroleptic haloperidol (N = 3), the atypical neuroleptic clozapine
(N = 3), or a drug-free vehicle (N = 3). Cellular activation was assessed
by using immunohistochemistry to determine expression of the immediate
response gene c-fos. RESULTS: Both antipsychotic drugs induced increased
Fos immunoreactivity, suggesting increased activity in cells of the midline
nuclei of the thalamus. CONCLUSIONS: The shared clinical effects of
antipsychotic drugs may be mediated in part through actions on the
thalamus.
