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Updated: Aug 24, 2026
Gait Analysis of Age-dependent Motor Impairments in Mice with Neurodegeneration
Published on: June 18, 2018
Perinatal MK-801 treatment affects age-related changes in locomotor activity from childhood to later adulthood in
Thomas Schiffelholz1, Dunja Hinze-Selch, Josef B Aldenhoff
1Experimental Sleep Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Niemannsweg 147, D24105 Kiel, Germany. schiffelholz@psychiatry.uni-kiel.de
Abstract:
Neuronal degeneration underlying the pathology of schizophrenia is already present during childhood. However, most of these studies were done in adult humans or animals. The present study therefore investigated age-related changes of behavior in an innovative version of the Open Field Maze following perinatal chronic administration of the noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist MK-801. The waxing and waning pattern of locomotor activity during aging with a peak around the age of 90 days was profoundly attenuated by MK-801. MK-801 further reduced locomotion and body weight in mature rats. However, it increased explorative behavior in immature rats. Therefore, the chronic perinatal administration of MK-801 seems to be a model to investigate the pathological mechanisms of psychomotor retardation and body weight dysregulation in schizophrenia.
