The subchronic phencyclidine rat model: relevance for the assessment of novel therapeutics for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia.

Rationale Current treatments for schizophrenia have modest, if any, efficacy on cognitive dysfunction, creating a need for novel therapies. Their development requires predictive animal models. The N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) hypothesis of schizophrenia indicates the use of NMDA antagonists, like subchronic phencyclidine (scPCP) to model cognitive dysfunction in adult animals.