Reconsideration of animal models of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders with evolutionary perspective.

Abstract

Studies utilizing animal models for understanding biological mechanisms of such psychiatric disorders as schizophrenia have been now flourishing. Animal models are a essential part of translational research, and without them, it is not possible to develop therapeutic strategies to treat psychiatric disorders. Accordingly, importance of animal models has been increasingly emphasized. However, on the other side, limitations of such an animal model approach have been growingly deceptive. The aim of this review article is to discuss limitations of translational research utilizing animal models, and propose a new direction of research with evolutionary perspective to understand psychiatric disorders.