Neurotoxicity and Schizophrenia

Neurotoxicity is the tendency of substances (also called neurotoxins), conditions, or states to alter the normal activity of the nervous system. This can eventually disrupt or even kill neurons (key cells that transfer and process signals in the brain and parts of the nervous system). Neurotoxicity can result from exposure to drug therapies and certain kinds of drug use or abuse. The “neurotoxicity theory” of schizophrenia states that psychosis, especially when untreated, is neurotoxic to the brain and that brain changes are an inherent feature of the neurobiological disease process in schizophrenia. Although the pathophysiology of schizophrenia is still unknown, it is known that antipsychotics (dopamine receptor blockers) reduce symptoms of schizophrenia, but that recreational drugs like cocaine and amphetamine increase dopamine in the brain and may induce psychosis. The term neurotoxic is used to describe a substance, condition, or state that damages the nervous system and/or brain, usually by killing neurons. The term is generally used to describe a condition or substance that has been shown to result in observable physical damage.