Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy in a mouse model of schizophrenia.

Metabolic brain abnormalities, as demonstrated by (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy, are common occurrences in adult schizophrenia. As mice share important biochemical and genomic similarities with humans, we tested whether brain metabolic abnormalities also occur in a transgenic mouse model of schizophrenia. In vivo(1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 4.7T of the chakragati mouse brain revealed abnormalities in relative levels of choline and N-acetylaspartate compounds. These results are consistent with a prior proposal that deficits in metabolite ratios may be common features of psychotic disorders. Thus, chakragati mice recapitulate certain aspects of the human disease phenotype and further support the utility of this animal model for understanding causal factors underlying uniquely human brain diseases.