OBJECTIVE: Diagnostic and therapy of somatic diseases like diabetes and hypertension have improved notably with the use of experimental models. For schizophrenia the proposal of a model has made little impact and even scepticism. Nevertheless the most recent studies indicate that "Cognitive Sciences" applied to specific models may help us to find out mechanisms of the disease. This article reviews the models presently under investigation for schizophrenia. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The difficulty to model schizophrenia results from the subjectivity of its symptoms, the difficult to reproduce them in animals and the disease complexity. Research on such a complex phenotype can only proceed by separating its components (endophenotypes) from each other and by the respective manipulation of its experimental counterparts, made by specific interventions (e.g. pharmacological, surgical, genetic), in the search of a common mechanism leading to these endophenotypes. For integrating these findings with symptoms a global explanatory theory is required. So far, the disease seems to result from a diffuse neuronal disconnection as a consequence of minor brain abnormalities with a genetic and/or environmental cause. CONCLUSIONS: An integrative approach of the diversity of models presently used may improve our understanding of schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia; Experimental models; Evaluation studies; Feasibility studies; Review literature