Human and Animal Autopsy Studies

Animal autopsy data provide strong evidence that the neuroleptics frequently cause brain damage. Human autopsy studies are too few and contradictory to lead to a definite conclusion. Once again, interest in them has declined. 

Animal Autopsy Studies of Neuroleptic-Induced Grain Damage 

Most animal studies report irreversible neuronal damage, including cell death, after relatively brief exposure to neuroleptics. Of great importance, animal studies with longer durations of exposure to neuroleptics— 1 year (Pakkenberg et al., 1973), 8 months (Jeste et al., 1992), and 36 weeks (Nielsen et al., 1978)—show the expected neuronal deterioration in the basal ganglia. 

Animal research provides definitive and apparently incontrovertible evidence that neuroleptics often cause irreversible brain damage. This is consistent with more recent studies reviewed earlier in the chapter that demonstrate how both older and newer atypical neuroleptics are highly toxic to living cells in animals. 

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