Combining ketamine with social isolation in male albino rats produces long-lasting behavioral and neurochemical deficits that resemble schizophrenia, offering a potential model for studying the disorder's multifactorial origins. Rats given ketamine and isolated showed fewer line crossings in an open field test, fewer open arm entries in an elevated plus maze, and lower spontaneous alternation in a Y-maze compared to controls and ketamine-treated rats housed socially. The combined intervention also increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and decreased glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels in the hippocampus and cortex, indicating oxidative stress. Adding aripiprazole helped model both positive and negative symptoms.
Combining ketamine with social isolation in male albino rats produced long-lasting schizophrenia-like behaviors and brain oxidative stress, offering a potential animal model for chronic schizophrenia that mimics both positive and negative symptoms. Compared to controls and ketamine with social housing, the ketamine-plus-isolation group showed significantly fewer line crossings in the open field test, fewer open arm entries in the elevated plus maze, and lower spontaneous alternation in the Y-maze. It also increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and decreased glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels in the hippocampus and cortex. Adding the antipsychotic aripiprazole reduced these schizophrenia-like symptoms, supporting the model's validity.