Schizophrenia: a purinergic hypothesis

Knowledge of the physiological roles of the purinergic system and its influ ence on other neurotransmitter systems has greatly advanced. In this articl e, a purinergic model is proposed as an attempt to integrate several findin gs in schizophrenia. According to this hypothesis, a purinergic system dysf unction would mainly result in reduced adenosinergic activity. This model a lso addresses the systemic aspects of schizophrenia, based on peripheral ro les of purines, such as modulation of the immune system. (C) 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.