Psychiatric disorders are characterized by sex differences in their prevalence,
symptomatology and treatment response. Animal models have been widely employed for …

Startle is a fast response to sudden, intense stimuli and probably protects the organism from
injury by a predator or by a blow. The acoustic startle response (ASR) of mammals is …

Rationale: Patients with schizophrenia exhibit deficits in an operational measure of
sensorimotor gating: prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle. Similar deficits in PPI are produced …

Threat processing is central to understanding debilitating fear-and trauma-related disorders
such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Progress has been made in understanding …

Systematic behavioral phenotyping of genetically modified mice is a powerful method with
which to identify the molecular factors implicated in control of animal behavior, with potential …

Maternal infection during pregnancy is a risk factor for some psychiatric illnesses of
neurodevelopmental origin such as schizophrenia and autism. In experimental animals …

The peak in incidence for schizophrenia is during late adolescence for both sexes, but within
this time frame the peak is both earlier and steeper for males. Additionally, women have a …

Sensorimotor gating of the startle reflex can be assessed across species, using similar
stimuli to elicit comparable response characteristics. As measured by prepulse inhibition …

Sex-dependent differences are frequently observed in the biological and behavioural effects
of substances of abuse, including cannabis. We recently demonstrated a modulating effect …

Rationale: In schizophrenia research, the study of animal models has received considerable
attention in the past 20 years. The value of animal models in pre-clinical research is widely …