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Multiple Choice

Which NMDA receptor antagonist is a dissociative anesthetic that can produce both positive and negative schizophrenia-like symptoms?

NMDA receptor blockade can disrupt glutamatergic signaling enough to produce a dissociative, psychotomimetic state. Phencyclidine blocks the NMDA receptor channel, which leads to a dissociated, out-of-body feel and altered perception. As the drug's effects unfold, users can exhibit both positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, agitation) and negative symptoms (blunted affect, social withdrawal, reduced responsiveness). This combination is characteristic of PCP, making it the classic example of an NMDA antagonist that is a dissociative anesthetic associated with a broad schizophrenia-like symptom profile. Ketamine can cause similar dissociative experiences, but PCP is the prototypical drug described with both positive and negative symptoms in this context. MDMA and cocaine act primarily on other neurotransmitter systems and do not fit this pattern.

NMDA receptor blockade can disrupt glutamatergic signaling enough to produce a dissociative, psychotomimetic state. Phencyclidine blocks the NMDA receptor channel, which leads to a dissociated, out-of-body feel and altered perception. As the drug's effects unfold, users can exhibit both positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, agitation) and negative symptoms (blunted affect, social withdrawal, reduced responsiveness). This combination is characteristic of PCP, making it the classic example of an NMDA antagonist that is a dissociative anesthetic associated with a broad schizophrenia-like symptom profile. Ketamine can cause similar dissociative experiences, but PCP is the prototypical drug described with both positive and negative symptoms in this context. MDMA and cocaine act primarily on other neurotransmitter systems and do not fit this pattern.