Animal Models for Development of Cognitive Enhancers and Action of Drugs

To gain insight into the etiological mechanism of dementia and to develop clinically effective congnitive enhancers, it is required to prepare animal models with symptoms and mechanism resemble to that in human. Dementia is mainly classified into two types : senile type of Alzheimer's disease (STAD) and cerebral ischemia-induced one. As animal models of cerebral ischemia, a couple of types in rats have been introduced : one is the occlusion of bilateral carotid arteries-induced forebrain/global ischemia and the other is the occlusion of middle cerebral arteries-induced focal/regional ischemia.