Innovative screening models for the discovery of new schizophrenia drug therapies: an integrated approach.

Introduction: Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder affecting millions worldwide. However, available treatment options do not fully address the disease. Whereas current antipsychotics may control psychotic symptoms, they seem notoriously ineffective in improving negative and cognitive symptoms or in preventing functional decline. As the etiology of schizophrenia eludes us, the development of valid animal models for screening new drug targets appears to be a strenuous task.Areas covered: In this review, the authors present the key concepts that validate animal models of schizophrenia, as well as the different screening approaches for novel schizophrenia treatments. The models covered are either based on major neurotransmitter systems or neurodevelopmental, immune, and genetic approaches.Expert opinion: Sadly, due to inertia, research focuses on developing 'anti-psychotics', instead of 'anti-schizophrenia' drugs that would tackle the entire syndrome of schizophrenia. Whereas no perfect model may ever exist, combining different experimental designs may enhance validity, as the over-reliance on a single model is inappropriate. Multi-model approaches incorporating vulnerability, the 'two-hit' hypothesis, and endophenotypes offer a promise for developing new strategies for schizophrenia treatment. Forward and reverse translation between preclinical and clinical research will increase the probability of success and limit failures in drug development.

Behavioral and Neurochemical Effects of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Total Phenolic Content and Sideritis Extract in Female Mice.

The aim of this study was to determine the cognitive and behavioral effects of extra virgin olive oil total phenolic content (TPC) and Sideritis (SID) extracts in female mice, and identify the associated neurochemical changes in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. All animals received intraperitoneal low or high doses of TPC, SID or vehicle treatment for 7 days and were subjected to the Open Field (OF), Novel Object Recognition (NOR) and Tail Suspension Test (TST). The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were dissected for analysis of neurotransmitters and aminoacids with high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ED). Both TPC doses enhanced vertical activity and center entries in the OF, which could indicate an anxiolytic-like effect. In addition, TPC enhanced non-spatial working memory and, in high doses, exerted antidepressant effects. On the other hand, high SID doses remarkably decreased the animals' overall activity. Locomotor and exploratory activities were closely associated with cortical increases in serotonin turnover induced by both treatments. Cognitive performance was linked to glutamate level changes. Furthermore, TPC reduced cortical taurine levels, while SID reduced cortical aspartate levels. TPC seems to have promising cognitive, anxiolytic and antidepressant effects, whereas SID has sedative effects in high doses. Both extracts act in the brain, but their specific actions and properties merit further exploration.

Implementing Change in Neuroanatomy Education: Organization, Evolution, and Assessment of a Near-Peer Teaching Program in an Undergraduate Medical School in Greece.

In light of the current shifts in medical education from traditional lectures to more active teaching modalities, a peer-teaching program was introduced to a compulsory, second-year neuroanatomy course. A cross-sectional survey of 527 medical students in the six-year medical program of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens was administered. The primary aim of the survey, which was distributed to second- through sixth-year medical students, who had completed the neuroanatomy course, was to assess student perception of peer teachers (PTs). Across the five years assessed, students increasingly acknowledged the contribution of PTs to their learning (P < 0.001). Attributes of PTs (e.g., contribution to learning, motivation, effective usage of material, and team environment) were significantly related to the student's opinion of the importance of laboratory activities (P < 0.001). Students who received "average" final grades scored the importance of laboratory exercises, and by inference PTs, significantly lower than students who received "excellent" final grades (P < 0.05). The amount of training that PTs had received was also significantly related to student perceptions of a PT's contribution. Better trained PTs were associated with significantly higher scores regarding learning, motivation, and positive environment compared to less trained PTs (P < 0.05). The results of the present study show that peer-teaching was well received by students attending the neuroanatomy course. While the results express the evolution of the program across the years, the findings also show that learners believed that PTs and the laboratory program contributed significantly to their understanding of neuroanatomy.