NMDAR hypofunction reduces steady state visual evoked potentials.

Companion project for: N-methyl d-aspartate receptor hypofunction reduces steady state visual evoked potentials. Schielke and Krekelberg. J Neurophysy. doi: /10.1152/jn.00296.2024.

Coordinated neural activity is important for healthy brain function. It has been hypothesized that reduced functioning of a particular receptor (the N-methyl d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)) causes symptoms of schizophrenia, including impairments in the generation of coordinated neuronal activity. Our findings support this hypothesis by showing that a drug (ketamine) that impairs NMDAR function reduces coordinated neural activity in response to flickering light, matching deficits found in schizophrenia. Developing experimental models and testing hypotheses that describe altered cortical processing at the level of specific receptors is key to understanding the underlying neural deficits and developing treatments for neuropsychiatric diseases.