Altered social interaction in adult rats following neonatal treatment with domoic acid.

Schizophrenia is a debilitating neurological disorder characterized by positive, negative, cognitive and/or emotional symptoms. Decreased social interaction is a common negative symptom. Social interaction can be readily observed in rats and is therefore an ideal target behaviour when evaluating an animal model of schizophrenia.

New animal models of progressive neurodegeneration: tools for identifying targets in predictive diagnostics and presymptomatic treatment.

Mental and neurological disorders are increasingly prevalent and constitute a major societal and economic burden worldwide. Many of these diseases and disorders are characterized by progressive deterioration over time, that ultimately results in identifiable symptoms that in turn dictate therapy. Disease-specific symptoms, however, often occur late in the degenerative process.