Mouse models and induced pluripotent stem cells in researching psychiatric disorders

Psychiatric disorders are a problem for society both on a micro level involving patients and their families as well as on a macro level involving global economic costs. For years, scientists have relied on mouse models for research, but these have shortcomings that greatly hinder efforts to understand the pathophysiology and genetic factors of psychiatric disorders. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have shown potential to overcome obstacles that mouse models face and can provide patient-specific cells that allow for better understanding of genetic effects on psychiatric disorders. This review explores the current progress using iPSCs to model psychiatric disorders, specifically bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, while discussing remaining issues with iPSC use and how these issues can be resolved in the future.