Researchers have developed a mouse strain in which the abnormal activity of the dopamine machinery in a specific part of the brain causes cognitive and behavioral impairments mimicking those in human schizophrenics. The achievement is important, because creating an animal model of any schizophrenic characteristics has not been done before. And schizophrenia’s genetic and physiological complexities have seriously hindered efforts to understand the disorder. Dr.s Christoph Kellendonk, Eleanor H. Simpson, Eric R. Kandel and colleagues reported their development of the mouse model in an article in the February 16, 2006, issue of Neuron.
