Abstract
Depression is a common psychiatric disorder, with diverse symptoms and high comorbidity with other brain dysfunctions. Due to this complexity, little is known about the neural and genetic mechanisms involved in depression pathogenesis. In a large proportion of patients, current antidepressant treatments are often ineffective and/or have undesirable side effects, fueling the search for more effective drugs. Animal models mimicking various symptoms of depression are indispensable in studying the biological mechanisms of this disease. Here, we summarize several popular methods for assessing depression-like symptoms in mice, and their utility in screening antidepressant drugs.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by NARSAD YI Award to AVK, and by Stress Physiology and Research Center (SPaRC) of Georgetown University Medical School. AVK is the President of the International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS, www.stressandbehavior.com). He is supported by Guangdong Ocean University, St. Petersburg State University (internal grant 1.38.201.2014) and Ural Federal University (Government of Russian Federation Act 211, contract 02-A03.21.0006).
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Bergner, C.L. et al. (2016). Mouse Models for Studying Depression-Like States and Antidepressant Drugs. In: Proetzel, G., Wiles, M. (eds) Mouse Models for Drug Discovery. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1438. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3661-8_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3661-8_15
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