title: Divergent effects of isolation rearing on prepulse inhibition, activity, anxiety and hippocampal-dependent memory in Roman high- and low-avoidance rats: A putative model of schizophrenia-relevant features.
abstract: Social isolation of rats induces a constellation of behavioral alterations known as "isolation syndrome" that are consistent with some of the positive and cognitive symptoms observed in schizophrenic patients. In the present study we have assessed whether isolation rearing of inbred Roman high-avoidance (RHA-I) and Roman low-avoidance (RLA-I) strains can lead to the appearance of some of the key features of the "isolation syndrome", such as prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits, increased anxious behavior, hyperactivity and memory/learning impairments. Compared to RLA-I rats, the results show that isolation rearing (IR) in RHA-I rats has a more profound impact, as they exhibit isolation-induced PPI deficits, increased anxiety, hyperactivity and long-term reference memory deficits, while isolated RLA-I rats only exhibit deficits in a spatial working memory task. These results give further support to the validity of RHA-I rats as a genetically-based model of schizophrenia relevant-symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: Ignasi.oliveras@uab.cat.
authors.forename: Ignasi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Oliveras
authors.affiliation: Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sánchez-González
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Section of Pharmaceutical, Pharmacological and Nutraceutical Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Antonietta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Piludu
authors.affiliation: Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gerboles
authors.affiliation: Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristóbal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Río-Álamos
authors.affiliation: Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Adolf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tobeña
authors.affiliation: Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: Albert.fernandez.teruel@uab.cat.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernández-Teruel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D065808:Prepulse Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Genetically-based rat model; Isolation rearing; Prepulse inhibition; Roman high- and low-avoidance rats; Schizophrenia; Spatial learning/memory