title: Abnormal Motor Activity and Thermoregulation in a Schizophrenia Rat Model for Translational Science.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Schizophrenia is accompanied by altered motor activity and abnormal thermoregulation; therefore, the presence of these symptoms can enhance the face validity of a schizophrenia animal model. The goal was to characterize these parameters in freely moving condition of a new substrain of rats showing several schizophrenia-related alterations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male Wistar rats were used: the new substrain housed individually (for four weeks) and treated subchronically with ketamine, and naive animals without any manipulations. Adult animals were implanted with E-Mitter transponders intraabdominally to record body temperature and locomotor activity continuously. The circadian rhythm of these parameters and the acute effects of changes in light conditions were analyzed under undisturbed circumstances, and the effects of different interventions (handling, bed changing or intraperitoneal vehicle injection) were also determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Decreased motor activity with fragmented pattern was observed in the new substrain. However, these animals had higher body temperature during the active phase, and they showed wider range of its alterations, too. The changes in light conditions and different interventions produced blunted hyperactivity and altered body temperature responses in the new substrain. Poincaré plot analysis of body temperature revealed enhanced short- and long-term variabilities during the active phase compared to the inactive phase in both groups. Furthermore, the new substrain showed increased short- and long-term variabilities with lower degree of asymmetry suggesting autonomic dysregulation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In summary, the new substrain with schizophrenia-related phenomena showed disturbed motor activity and thermoregulation suggesting that these objectively determined parameters can be biomarkers in translational research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gyongyi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Horvath
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kekesi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physical Education and Sport Medicine, Juhász Gyula Faculty of Education, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zita
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Petrovszki
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gyorgy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Benedek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000528:radiation effects; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000528:radiation effects; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000528:radiation effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000528:radiation effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical