Neuroleptics glutamate receptors

It may be concluded that despite the importance of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia in serving to unify the mechanism of action of both typical and atypical neuroleptics, it is apparent that some serotonin receptor subtypes, and glutamate receptors of the NMDA subtype, may also play a crucial role. 

Sokolov BP. 1998. Expression of NMDAR1, GluRl, GluR7, and KA1 glutamate receptor mRNAs is decreased in frontal cortex of neuroleptic-free schizophrenics Evidence on reversible up-regulation by typical neuroleptics. J Neurochem 71 2454-2464. 

Breese CR, Freedman R, Leonard SS (1995) Glutamate receptorsubtype expression in human postmortem brain tissue from schizophrenics and alcohol abusers. Brain Res 674 82-90 Bristow LJ, Flatman KL, Hutson PH, et al (1996) The atypical neuroleptic profile of the glycine/N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, 1-701,324, in rodents. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 277 578-585... 

The heterogeneity of dopaminergic neurons may also be judged by the fact that the cotransmitter systems involving dopamine and peptides are varied in the central nervous system. For example, in the corpus striatum, in addition to dopamine, acetylcholine, y-aminobutyric acid, serotonin, glutamate, and aspartate, one also finds peptides such as enkephalin, substance P, somatostatin, neuropeptide Y, cholecystokinin, neurotensin, and vasoactive intestinal peptide. Although many neuroleptics block dopamine receptors, they may have selective effects on the peptides and other parts of the brain. A few examples will be cited. 

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