Researchers studying new drug targets need comprehensive ways to assess a target's relevance to CNS disorders. Use of knockout or transgenic mice with careful phenotyping has proven to be a powerful method, with the potential not only to validate hypotheses about gene function but also to uncover unexpected functions. The evaluation of behavior in genetically modified mice is especially complex, because there are multiple ways for a mutation to produce subtle changes that affect performance in any given test. Therefore, it is advantageous to use convergent data from multiple behavioral paradigms in order to better evaluate the significance of any behavioral finding (and avoid missing useful observations). For example, performance in the Morris water maze is affected by multiple factors, including anxiety, attention, locomotor function, motivation, memory, and vision.

PsychoGenics has a state-of-the-art breeding capabilities to establish pathogen-free lines of selected mice strains, transgenics, knock-outs, and knock-ins. Colonies can be expanded to provide sufficient mice for primary phenotyping (random mutation and genetic disease models), as well as, drug evaluation (selected gene modulation models, surgical models and drug-induced models). Examples of mouse models with which PsychoGenics has experience include Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), Huntington's disease (HD), Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS; SOD1 mouse), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Standard genotyping services are routinely performed at PsychoGenics with larger genotyping projects provided with the assistance of select genotyping specialist subcontractors.