Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess further the effect of amphetamine on negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Thirty-seven schizophrenic males meeting DSM-III criteria were rated with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Abrams and Taylor Scale, and the Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale before and after double-blind administration of either amphetamine (n=26) or placebo (n=11). Our results indicated that amphetamine administration generally did not improve negative symptoms, even when accounting for changes in positive symptoms. However, greater baseline negative symptoms were associated with a modest diminution after amphetamine treatment. Therefore, amphetamine may modestly improve negative symptoms in those schizophrenics in whom this symptomatology is more severe.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrams R, Taylor MA (1978) A rating scale for emotional blunting. Am J Psychiatry 135:226–299
American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 3rd edn. DC:APA, Washington
Andreasen, NC (1982) Negative symptoms in schizophrenia: definition and reliability. Arch Gen Psychiatry 39:784–788
Angrist B, Rotrosen J, Gershon S (1980) Differential effects of amphetamine and neuroleptics on negative vs. positive symptoms in schizophrenia. Psychopharmacology 72:17–19
Angrist B, Peselow E, Rubinstein M, Corwin J, Rotrosen J (1982) Partial improvement in negative schizophrenic symptoms after amphetamine. Psychopharmacology 78:128–130
Cesarec Z, Nyman AK (1985) Differential response to amphetamine in schizophrenia. Acta Psychiatr Scand 71:523–538
Davis KL, Kahn RS, Ko G, Davidson M (1991) Dopamine in schizophrenia: a review and reconceptualization. Am J Psychiatry 148:1474–1486
Goldberg TE, Bigelow LB, Weinberger DR, Daniel DG, Kleinman JE (1991) Cognitive and behavioral effects of coadministration of dextroamphetamine and haloperidol in schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 148:78–84
Grace AA (1991) Phasic versus tonic dopamine release and the modulation of dopamine system responsitivity: a hypothesis for the etiology of schizophrenia. Neuroscience 41:1–24
Guy W (1976) ECDEU assessment manual for Psychopharmacology. US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, DC, Publication No. (ADM), pp 534–535
Mathew RJ, Wilson WH (1989) Changes in cerebral blood flow and mental state after amphetamine challenge in schizophrenic patients. Neuropsychobiology 21:117–123
Overall JE, Gorham DR (1962) The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Psychol Rep 10:799–812
Van Kammen DP, Boronow JJ (1988) Dextro-amphetamine diminishes negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Int Clin Psychopharmacol 3:111–121
Van Kammen DP, Bunney WE Jr, Docherty JP, Marder SR, Ebert MH, Rosenblatt JE, Rayner JN (1982)d-Amphetamine-induced heterogeneous changes in psychotic behavior in schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 139:991–997
Weinberger DR (1987) Implications of normal brain development for the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry 44:660–669
Wolkin A, Angrist B, Wolf A, Brodie J, Wolkin B, Jaeger J, Cancro R, Rotrosen J, (1987) Effects of amphetamine on local cerebral metabolism in normal and schizophrenic subjects as determined by positron emission tomography. Psychopharmacology 92:241–246
Wolkin A, Sanfilipo M, Wolf AP, Angrist B, Brodie JD, Rotrosen J (1992) Negative symptoms and hypofrontality in chronic schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry 49:959–965
Wolkin A, Sanfilipo M, Angrist B, Duncan E, Wieland S, Wolf AP, Brodie JD, Cooper TB, Laska E, Rotrosen JP (1994) Acuted-amphetamine challenge in schizophrenia: effects on cerebal glucose utilization and clinical symptomatology. Biological Psychiatry 36:31–325
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sanfilipo, M., Wolkin, A., Angrist, B. et al. Amphetamine and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Psychopharmacology 123, 211–214 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02246180
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02246180