Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
Published on: August 18, 2020
The hippocampo-prefrontal pathway: a possible therapeutic target for negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia
Ayan Ghoshal1, P Jeffrey Conn1
1Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232 0697, USA.
Abstract:
The hippocampo-prefrontal (H-PFC) pathway has been linked to cognitive and emotional disturbances in several psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. Preclinical evidence from the NMDA receptor antagonism rodent model of schizophrenia shows severe pathology selective to the H-PFC pathway. It is speculated that there is an increased excitatory drive from the hippocampus to the prefrontal cortex due to dysfunctions in the H-PFC plasticity, which may serve as the basis for the behavioral consequences observed in this rodent model. Thus, the H-PFC pathway is currently emerging as a promising therapeutic target for the negative and cognitive symptom clusters of schizophrenia. Here, we have reviewed the physiological, pharmacological and functional characteristics of the H-PFC pathway and we propose that allosteric activation of glutamatergic and cholinergic neurotransmission can serve as a plausible therapeutic approach.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Psychosis: Goals of Pharmacotherapy
Psychosis: Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
Researchers have identified genetic factors that increase susceptibility to schizophrenia, underscoring the intricate interplay between genetics and environment in disease development. At the core of schizophrenia's pathophysiology is excessive dopaminergic neurotransmission within...
Alzheimer's Disease: Treatment
Psychosis and Antipsychotic Drugs: Overview
Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists

