Abstract #1682

Potentiation of the Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Subtype 2 Blocks Phencyclidine-Induced Brain Activation: A PhMRI Study

Nellie E. Byun^1,2, Elizabeth A. Hackler^1,2, Carrie K. Jones³, Jason M. Williams^1,2, Malcolm Avison^2,3, P. Jeffrey Conn³, John C. Gore^1,2

¹Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; ²Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Nashville, TN, USA; ³Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

We utilized pharmacologic MRI to evaluate the therapeutic potential of a metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 2 potentiator, biphenyl indanone-A, in the phencyclidine (PCP) rat model predictive of schizophrenia. Here we show that mGluR2 potentiation attenuates the PCP-induced BOLD response in anesthetized rats in specific brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, caudate-putamen, and thalamus, which correlate with behavioral data. These findings bolster the growing body of evidence that mGluR2 is a viable target for the treatment of schizophrenia.