Catatonia is a psychopathological syndrome displayed as a motor disorder. Catatonia is a sign of many men thal disorders, particularly schizophrenia and depres sion, with a wide disrtibution in the human popula tion. The GC ("genetic" and "catatonia") rat strain was obtained from the Wistar rat strain by a long selection (78 generations) for the catatonic type of reaction and is a model of schizophrenic and depressive disorders in humans. It is known that selection for behavior in cluding catatonic reactions results in neuroendocrine, reproductive and morphological changes in animals. However, the influence of selection for a catatonic reaction on the spermatogenic function of testes had not been studied. The aim of this study was to conduct a comparative investigation of sperm quality in rats of the GC and the Wistar strain. The epididymal sperm parameters (sperm count, sperm motility, sperm mor phology) were measured, and body, testes and epi didymal weight were determined at puberty (50 day of life) and at adulthood (90 day of life). The litter size of the GC and Wistar rats was determined. It was found that adult GC rats had a lower sperm count, sperm mo tility, testis weight, epydidymal weight and litter size compared to adult Wistar rats. However, at puberty, GC rats had a higher sperm count than the Wistar strain. Interstrain differences in sperm morphology were not found. It has been assumed that the changes of spermatogenic parameters in response to selection for catatonia are caused by changing the ontogenic pattern of testosterone secretion. In conclusion, the hereditary predisposition to catatonic reaction is as sociated with impaired sperm parameters in adult rats that reduces their chance to reproduction. The GC rat strain can be a perspective model for investigation of the relationship between the hereditary predisposition to catatonia and spermatogenesis.Key words: catatonia; selection model; sperm count; sperm motility; sperm morphology; fertility; light microsropy; puberty; rat.Кататония -психопатологический синдром, проявляющийся как двигательные расстройства. Кататонический синдром сопутствует многим психическим заболеваниям, в частности шизофрении и депрессии, которые широко распространены в популяции чело века. Линия крыс ГК (генетическая кататония) получена из линии Вистар путем длительной (78 поколений) селекции на кататониче ский тип реагирования и служит моделью шизофренных и депрес сивных состояний у человека. Известно, что селекция по поведе нию, в том числе по выраженности кататонической реакции, при водит к нейроэндокринным, репродуктивным и морфологическим изме нениям у животных. Однако влияние отбора по выраженности кататонической реакции на сперматогенную функцию семенников у самцов крыс не изучалось. Целью настоящей работы было про вести сравнительное исследование сперматогенной функции се менников у крыс линии ГК и линии Вистар в период полового созревания (50й день жизни) и у взрослых животных (90й день жизни). Определяли количество эпидидимальных сперматозои дов, долю половых...
