Prenatal Viral Infection in Mouse: An Animal Model of Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a major debilitating disease with a lifetime prevalence of 1% throughout the world. There is robust epidemiologic evidence indicating that environmental contributions, such as prenatal infections, may lead to the genesis of schizophrenia. Our laboratory has developed an animal model using human influenza virus to infect pregnant Balb/c and C57BL/6 mice intranasally at selected time points during pregnancy to investigate the role of prenatal viral infection on brain development. In this chapter, we review our research using this model and the changes in brain structure, gene expression, neurochemistry, and behavior that are observed in the offspring of infected dams. Our observations are consistent with findings observed in subjects with schizophrenia, providing additional evidence for the role of prenatal viral infection in the etiology of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]