The significance of the expression of Fos protein in the brain for the classification of antipsychotics

The significance of the expression of Fos protein in the brain for the classification of antipsychotics In the past 6 years many reports have been published on the effects of antipsychotic drugs on regional c-fos gene expression in the the brain. IN animals this experimental approach has allowed the study of antipsychotic drug effects at the cellular level. The fos-gene, a member of the immediate early gene family, regulates the transcriptions for other, often unknown, described. In this report the significance of this technique for the classification of antipsychotic drugs is discussed. It appears that these drugs are effective both in the (meso)limbic brain areas (including nucleus accumbens, amygdala and septum) and also in the basal ganglia. The relative effects studied using c-Sos expression of the atypical antipsychotics (eg. clozapine, risperidone) are higher in the limbic structures, as compared to results obtained with the typical antipsychotics (eg. haloperidol). The potential of the c-fos approach for furthur developments in this area are indicated.