Abstract: Establishment of animal models of schizophrenia through the social environmental deprivation was the focuses for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this severe mental disease. As an important means of early social environmental deprivation, maternal separation from birth to weaning is being regarding increasingly. By comprehensively describes the latest research results about the impact of maternal separation on rodent behavior and neurodevelopment, this article shows that the feasibility of maternal separation on studying schizophrenia; what's more, further analysis of the various factors which is influencing the results, provides some theoretical support for in-depth study in the future.

Key words: animal model, maternal separation, schizophrenia