Duncan Jack Hodkinson1, John Gigg2,
Diana Cash3, Steve CR Williams3, John-Francis William
Deakin4, Steve R. Williams1
1Imaging Sciences Research Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; 2Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; 3Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; 4Neuroscience & Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Minocycline is a safe, routinely prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotic effective against neuro-inflammation and oxidative cell stress. These actions may mediate the beneficial effects of minocycline on negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Here, we show that pre-administration of minocycline induces widespread attenuation of the ketamine-induced phMRI response. However, minocycline also inhibited BOLD responses to electrical hindpaw stimulation, though cortical local field potential changes were still present. These findings are consistent with pharmacologically-induced disruption of neurovascular coupling. These results are interpreted in the context of previous findings linking minocycline to modulation of aberrant glutamate NMDA function.