Schizophrenia and tardive dyskinesia: Is schizophrenia also a “denervation hypersensitivity”?

In human beings, amphetamine can induce both schizophreniform psychosis and oral-facial dyskinesia resembling tardive dyskinesia, while neuroleptic agents reduce the manifestations of both conditions. This suggests that such psychosis and movement disorder may occur by the same or very similar mechanisms. It is thought that tardive dyskinesia may result from neuroleptic-induced denervation hypersensitivity to dopamine. The author cites evidence suggesting that amphetamine may act on dopaminergic pathways in the CNS to produce a denervation hypersensitivity like that caused by neuroleptic agents. Clinical evedence compatible with a denervation hypersensitivity hypothesis of schizophrenia is then discussed.