Rethinking Schizophrenia and Depression Comorbidity as One Psychiatric Disorder Entity: Evidence From Mouse Model

Frontiers in Neuroscience

Chunhua Zhou¹  Gongying Li²  Sha Liu³  Yong Xu³  Hongjun Tian⁴  Chuanjun Zhuo⁴  Wei Wu⁵  Rong Xue⁵  Xiaodong Zhu⁵  Dezhi Kong⁶ 

[1] Department of Pharmacology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China;Institute of Brain Micro Scale Imaging Centre, School of Mental Health, Jining Medical University, Jining, China;MDT Center for Cognitive Impairment and Sleep Disorders, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China;Psychiatric-Neuroimaging-Genetics-Comorbidity Laboratory (PNGC_Lab), Tianjin Mental Health Centre, Mental Health Teaching Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin Anding Hospital, Tianjin, China;Tianjin Neurological Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China;Two-Photon In Vivo Imaging Centre, Institute of Chinese Integrative Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China;

关键词: schizophrenia;    depression;    mouse model;    behavioral phenotypes;    prefrontal cortex neuronal activity;    antipsychotic treatment;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnins.2020.00115

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Schizophrenia is frequently accompanied by depressive symptoms, but the pathological mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, we used chronic unpredicted mild stress plus MK801 injection to generate a mouse model of schizophrenia with depression, in which in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging and electrophysiological recordings were performed in conjunction with behavioral phenotyping. Compared to mice models with classical depression or to schizophrenia models, the animal models with schizophrenia and depression comorbidity presented worse psychotic and depressive symptoms. These behavioral deficits are associated with impaired neuronal calcium activities in the frontal cortex and thalamic nuclei. Moreover, in sharp contrast to classical models that have a satisfactory response to antipsychotic or antidepressant drugs, this novel schizophrenia with depression model is resilient to combined drug treatment in terms of behavioral and functional recovery. Taken together, these data indicate that schizophrenia with depression likely involves a unique pathophysiology that is different from schizophrenia or depression alone.

【 授权许可】

Unknown