ANIMAL MODEL OF SCHIZOPHRENIA OR COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, SCREENING METHOD USING THE SAME AND PREVENTIVE OR THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA OR COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

摘要

It is intended to provide an animal model which can develop schizophrenia or cognitive impairment more naturally without using a low molecular weight drug; a screening method for a preventive or therapeutic agent for schizophrenia or cognitive impairment using the animal model; and a preventive or therapeutic agent for schizophrenia or cognitive impairment. The animal model of schizophrenia or cognitive impairment comprising a nonhuman animal treated so as to reduce the expression level of a cell membrane-bound growth factor is developed and the preventive or therapeutic agent for schizophrenia or cognitive impairment is provided by utilizing the animal model for screening. In particular, the animal model is an animal model of schizophrenia or cognitive impairment in which the whole or a part of a sequence encoding a heparin-bound EGF-like growth factor has been deleted from a gene which can be expressed in vivo such that the factor is selectively reduced in the brain. Further, the preventive or therapeutic agent contains a substance that promotes signal transduction of a cell membrane-bound growth factor to a cell.