Importance of animal models in schizophrenia research

Abstract

Objective: This review aims to summarize the importance of animal models for research on psychiatric illnesses, particularly schizophrenia. Method and Results: Several aspects of animal models are addressed, including animal experimentation ethics and theoretical considerations of different aspects of validity of animal models. A more specific discussion is included on two of the most widely used behavioural models, psychotropic drug-induced locomotor hyperactivity and prepulse inhibition, followed by comments on the difficulty of modelling negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Furthermore, we emphasize the impact of new developments in molecular biology and the generation of genetically modif..