Effectiveness of Double-hit Model (Post-weaning Social Isolation and NMDA Receptor Antagonist) in the Development of Schizophrenic Like Symptoms on Rodents: A Protocol for a Systematic Review.

Abstract

BackgroundSchizophrenia is a heterogeneous neuropsychiatric disorder, categorized by positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. In trying to improve diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia researchers have turn to “dual hit” models of schizophrenia that are able to reproduce all symptoms of the disorder. The main objective of this protocol is to present a transparent process on how we plan to review the existing international literature on effectiveness of “dual hit” models used to induce schizophrenia on rodents. MethodsLiterature search strategies will be developed using medical search headings (MeSH). The MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases will be used to search for published studies electronically. We will search for studies involving inducing schizophrenic symptoms using “dual hit” rodent model (post-weaning social isolation and NMDA receptor antagonist). Studies will be screened by titles, abstracts, keywords, and synonyms followed by identifying the full-text articles. All studies that will pass the quality assessment will be included. Data will be extracted by two authors independently and in duplicate, from each eligible study in ensuring that there is consistency between reviews. If the design and comparator are sufficiently homogenous for all studies, meta-analysis will be conducted using a random-effect model.DiscussionThe results of this review will contribute in the development of new “dual hit” models that will be able to characterize schizophrenia symptoms better. It will also shed light to researchers on new developments that need to be made in improving animal models of schizophrenia.Systematic reviews registrationPROSPERO CRD42021247585