Parallel Effects of Schizophrenia and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) Antagonism

Subjects for the Ketamine experiment(Healthy control experiment):

Inclusion criteria

• Male or female
• 21-45 years old
• Deemed healthy by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-NP (SCID-NP) and collateral information. Subjects will need to provide the name of a person, preferably a family member, whom the research team can contact to corroborate information.

Exclusion criteria

• Lifetime diagnosis of DSM-IV substance dependence (except caffeine and nicotine).
• Substance abuse, as per clinical judgment, in the past 1 year.
• Current or past DSM-IV Axis-I diagnosis.
• A history of significant medical/neurological disease such as cardiac, thyroid, renal, hepatic or neurological. Unstable medical condition based on EKG, vital signs, physical examination and laboratory work-up.
• A hearing deficit greater than 30 dB in both ears detected using a Welch-Allyn audioscope (500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz threshold will be evaluated) at screening.
• Major current or recent (<6 weeks) stressors.
• History of counseling, except if counseling was for a life circumstance disorder (e.g., bereavement, divorce) or in the opinion of the investigator, is not clinically significant.
• Lifetime history of treatment with any psychotropic medications for > 1 month duration suggestive of psychiatric illness.
• Current or past Axis I diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in first-degree relatives.
• Any medication that could interfere with either the safety of the study and/or the outcome measures.
• Use of any illicit substances in the 4 weeks prior to beginning study participation.
• Any history indicating learning disability, mental retardation, or attention deficit disorder.
• History of head injury with loss of consciousness greater than fifteen minutes.
• Any other condition or medication, which in the opinion of the investigator would preclude participation in the study.
• Non-English speaking.
• Known sensitivity to ketamine.

Subjects for the Schizophrenia experiment:

Inclusion criteria

for control subjects:

• Male or female
• 21-45 years old
• No past or present Axis I diagnosis, as determined by the SCID-NP

Exclusion criteria

for control subjects:

• Lifetime diagnosis of DSM-IV substance dependence (except caffeine and nicotine).
• Substance abuse, as per clinical judgment, in the past 1 year
• A history of significant medical/neurological disease such as cardiac, thyroid, renal, hepatic or neurological.
• A hearing deficit greater than 30dB in both ears detected using a Welch-Allyn audioscope (500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz threshold will be evaluated) at screening.
• Axis I diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in first-degree relatives.
• History of head injury with loss of consciousness greater than fifteen minutes
• Any other condition or medication, which in the opinion of the investigator would preclude participation in the study.
• Non-English speaking.

Inclusion criteria

for patients:

• Male or female
• 21-45 years old
• Diagnosed with DSM-IV schizophrenia based on a SCID-IP interview for patients.
• Stable dose of antipsychotic medications for at least 2 weeks prior to beginning study participation.
• Score either in the 1-3 (high functioning) range or in the 5-7 (low functioning) range of the Global Functioning Scale from the MSIF based on a screening interview.

Exclusion criteria

• Lifetime diagnosis of DSM-IV substance dependence (except caffeine and nicotine).
• Substance abuse, as per clinical judgment, in the past 1 year
• A history of significant medical/neurological disease such as cardiac, thyroid, renal, hepatic or neurological.
• A hearing deficit greater than 30dB in both ears detected using a Welch-Allyn audioscope (500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz threshold will be evaluated) at screening.
• History of head injury with loss of consciousness greater than fifteen minutes.
• Any other condition or medication, which in the opinion of the investigator would preclude participation in the study.
• Non-English speaking.

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