Biochemical and cognitive impairments observed in animal models of schizophrenia induced by prenatal stress paradigm or methylazoxymethanol acetate administration.

The aim of the study was to find whether spatial memory impairment and disruption in locomotor activity were found in prenatally stressed rats (PSG) or prenatally methylazoxymethanol acetate-treated rats (MAMG). In addition to this, we examined basal plasma corticosterone level as well as brain-derived neurothropic factor (BDNF) in the PSG and MAMG rats. The effect of prenatal stress (stress paradigm between 14 and 21 day of gestation) and methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) administration (17 day of gestation) to the female Wistar rats were studied on the male offspring in the Morris Water Maze (spatial memory) and locomotor activity test. Through Morris Water Maze rats were injected with saline 4 times (on 1, 7, 14 and 21 day of testing) while in locomotor activity test saline was injected only once. Corticosterone level was measured using ELISA Kit while BDNF levels were assessed using ELISA Chemikine TM BDNF kit. Results indicate that both PSG and MAMG rats deteriorate spatial memory as well as increase locomotor activity compared to the control group. Biochemical studies indicate that basal plasma corticosterone level increased in both PSG and MAMG rats compared to the control group. Analyses of the BDNF level, on the other hand, have shown decrease of the neurothropin level in both hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) in both PSG and MAMG groups of rats. As shown by the obtained results, both the prenatal stress model and prenatal MAM administration model generate a number of behavioural (e.g. spatial memory disorders, increased locomotor activity) and biochemical (e.g. increased corticosterone and decreased BDNF levels) changes in the examined offspring, Thus, these models can be successfully used in the efficacy analysis of the pharmacotherapy applied.