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The Sound of Evolution
Phencyclidine
Mechanism of action:
Phencyclidine is an arylcyclohexylamine derivative. Phencyclidine acts as a non-competitive antagonist of the NMDA receptor. It enters the ion channel of the NMDA receptor and blocks the influx of calcium and sodium ions, interrupting excitatory neurotransmission. After this blockade, information integration among different brain regions becomes disrupted, producing the characteristic dissociative state.
Reference(s):
1. Overington JP et al. (2006). How many drug targets are there? Nat Rev Drug Discov.
2. Imming P et al. (2006). Drugs, their targets and the nature and number of drug targets. Nat Rev Drug Discov.
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