The Brattleboro Rat Displays a Natural Deficit in Social Discrimination that is Restored by Clozapine and a Neurotensin Analogue

Cognitive deficits in schizophrenia are a major source of dysfunction for which more effective treatments are needed. The vasopressin-deficient Brattleboro (BRAT) rat has been shown to have several natural schizophrenia-like deficits, including impairments in prepulse inhibition and memory. We investigated BRAT rats and their parental strain, Long Evans (LE) rats, in a social discrimination paradigm, which is an ethologically-relevant animal test of cognitive deficits of schizophrenia based upon the natural preference of animals to investigate conspecifics. We also investigated the effects of the atypical antipsychotic, clozapine and the putative antipsychotic, PD149163, a brain-penetrating neurotensin-1 analogue, on social discrimination in these rats. Adult rats were administered saline or one of three doses of clozapine (0.1, 1.0 or 10 mg/kg) or PD149163 (0.1, 0.3 or 1.0 mg/kg), subcutaneously. Following drug administration, adult rats were exposed to a juvenile rat for a 4-minute learning period. Animals were then housed individually for 30 minutes and then simultaneously exposed to the previously presented juvenile and a new juvenile for 4 minutes. Saline-treated LE rats, but not BRAT rats, exhibited intact social discrimination as evidenced by greater time spent exploring the new juvenile. The highest dose of clozapine and the two highest doses of PD149163 restored social discrimination in BRAT rats. These results provide further support for the utility of the BRAT rat as a genetic animal model relevant to schizophrenia and drug discovery. The potential of neurotensin agonists as putative treatments for cognitive deficits of schizophrenia was also supported.