Decreased Serotonin2A receptors in Brodmann's area 9 from schizophrenic subjects -: A pathological or pharmacological phenomenon?

There have been repeated reports of a decrease in serotonin(2A) receptors in the frontal cortex from subjects with schizophrenia. Similarly, in rats treated with antipsychotic drugs, it has been shown that many antipsychotic drugs decrease cortical serotonin(2A) receptors, an affect not seen with the antipsychotic drug haloperidol. We therefore compared the density of serotonin(2A) receptors in frontal cortex from schizophrenic subjects treated with haloperidol, schizophrenic subjects treated with other antipsychotic drugs, and nonschizophrenic subjects. Independent of antipsychotic drug treatment, serotonin(2A) receptors were decreased in the frontal cortex from schizophrenic subjects. Importantly, the density of serotonin(2A) receptors was not different in schizophrenic subjects whether or not they had been treated with haloperidol. This study suggests that data obtained from treating rats with antipsychotic drugs cannot be simplistically extrapolated to studies on tissue obtained postmortem from schizophrenic subjects treated with the same drugs.