Cyclic AMP in the CSF of patients with schizophrenia.

The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia proposes that schizophrenia is associated with increased brain dopaminergic function. Because dopamine is thought to stimulate the production of cyclic AMP in the brain, we hypothesized that CSF cyclic AMP would be increased in schizophrenia. Cyclic AMP in the CSF was determined in 19 schizophrenic patients who had not received neuroleptic treatment in the preceding two weeks. No significant difference could be shown between CSF cyclic AMP in these patients and CSF cyclic AMP in 10 psychiatrically normal controls.