Pomaglumetad Effects on Glutamate Biomarkers

This study evaluates the effects of POMA at selected doses on ketamine-stimulated glutamate increase in the prefrontal cortex hypothesized to simulate the synaptic dysregulation that occurs endogenously in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The purpose of this is: 1) to determine whether the low dose (40 mg BID) utilized in recent (failed) clinical trials is sufficient to engage the primary target and 2) whether a higher (160 mg BID) dose, representing the maximum tolerated dose of POMA, engages the target to a greater degree. This study will further validate pharmacoBOLD as biomarker of mGluR2/3 target engagement, permitting its future use in other glutamatergic drug development.