Phencyclidine

Phencyclidine, commonly called PCP, is a dissociative drug that blocks NMDA-type glutamate receptors. It was developed as an anesthetic, but its severe psychological effects limited human medical use.

NMDA receptor: A glutamate-gated ion channel involved in synaptic signaling, learning, and memory. PCP binds within this receptor’s channel and inhibits its activity.
Parke-Davis: An American pharmaceutical company that developed and marketed medicines, including phencyclidine. The company developed PCP as an anesthetic in the 1950s.
Veterinary anesthesia: The use of drugs to produce analgesia, immobility, or unconsciousness during animal procedures. PCP’s surviving anesthetic use has chiefly been in veterinary settings.
Phencyclidine intoxication: The acute physical and psychological effects caused by phencyclidine exposure. It can produce dissociation, agitation, analgesia, and dangerous behavioral changes.
Glutamate: The brain’s principal excitatory neurotransmitter, acting through several receptor families. PCP disrupts signaling by blocking one of glutamate’s major receptor types.
Sernyl: A former trade name for phencyclidine used as a human anesthetic. This was PCP’s marketed medical form before its human use was discontinued.
Anesthetic: A drug that reduces sensation or produces unconsciousness for medical procedures. PCP was first developed and tested for this purpose.
Phencyclidine use disorder: A pattern of problematic phencyclidine use meeting clinical criteria for a substance use disorder. This diagnosis captures persistent harmful use beyond isolated intoxication.
Dissociative anesthesia: An anesthetic state marked by detachment from surroundings and disrupted sensory integration. PCP’s distinctive effects belong to this broader anesthetic pattern.
Sernylan: A veterinary formulation of phencyclidine used as an anesthetic. PCP persisted in veterinary practice after its human anesthetic use ended.

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