Animal models of depression and anxiety: What do they tell us about human condition?

Area of Science:

• Neurobiology
• Psychiatry
• Animal Models

Background:

• Modern neurobiology is insufficient for understanding affective disorders.
• Effective treatments require validated disease models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review four rodent models with high validity for affective disorder research.
• To explore the utility of these models in investigating depression and anxiety.

Main Methods:

• Review of Flinders Sensitive rat line (FSL).
• Review of High Anxiety-like Behavior (HAB) rat line.
• Review of serotonin transporter knockout (5-HTT(-/-)) rat and mouse lines.
• Review of a predator scent-induced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) model.

Main Results:

• These models demonstrate good face, construct, and predictive validity.
• The models are suitable for studying the etiology and pathophysiology of affective disorders.

Conclusions:

• Validated rodent models are essential for advancing affective disorder research.
• These specific models offer promising avenues for developing novel therapeutic strategies.