Perception and psychoses: The role of glutamatergic transmission within the nucleus accumbens septi

Abstract:

In agreement with Behrendt & Young (B&Y), we considered the role of perception disturbances in schizophrenia in our first clinical approaches, using the Bender test with schizophrenic patients. Following this, we reproduced nuclear symptoms of schizophrenia in animal models, showing that perceptual disturbances, acquisition disturbances, and decrease in affective levels can be induced by glutamatergic blockade within the nucleus accumbens septi. Our results link the proposed corticostriatal dysfunction with the thalamocortical disturbances underlying perceptual problems reviewed by B&Y.