Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized with positive symptoms including paranoia, hallucinations and delusions. In addition to the usually treatable symptoms, there is a clear clinically unmet need for medications that are active and effective against schizophrenia induced cognitive impairments and asociality, the hallmarks of negative symptoms of the disease.
Positive Symptoms
Prepulse inhibition of startle is a neurophysiological and behavioral measure of sensorimotor gating. A weaker prestimulus (prepulse) inhibits the reaction of an animal to a subsequent strong startling stimulus (pulse). Abnormal sensory inhibition may reflect a deficit in processing incoming sensory information. Such deficits are often observed in patients suffering from illnesses like schizophrenia.
Charles River Discovery Research Services uses a schizophrenia model of PCP-induced impairment of Prepulse Inhibition (PPI) of startle. An antipsychotic drug is capable of partly reversing the PCP-induced impairment of PPI.
Example Study Paradigm for PCP-Induced Impairment of Prepulse Inhibition of Startle
Prepulse Inhibition of Startle after PCP
Negative Symptoms
The key cognitive tests for this are Morris Water Maze (MWM) and Novel Object Recognition (NOR) test, in which PCP-induced cognitive decline in rats is reversed with an antipsychotic.
Example Study Paradigm for Testing Cognitive Deficits in PCP-Induced Model of Schizophrenia
PCP-Induced Latency in Morris Water Maze is Reversed with an Antipsychotic
PCP-Induced Thigmotaxis is Reversed with an Antipsychotic with No Impact on Swim Speed
PCP Impairs Novel Object Recognition in Rats Compared to Controls with 24h Intertrial Interval
For more information about our animal models of schizophrenia, please contact us at 1.877.CRIVER.1 or askcharlesriver@crl.com.
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