Animal Model of Depression

THIS PAPER has three major purposes: (1) to present the need for an experimental animal model of "depression," ie, why the creation of such a model would be useful; (2) to review pertinent evidence from a variety of fields which points to the feasibility of such a model; and (3) to discuss possible research strategies which could be used to create an experimental animal model of depression. Depression in man is a poorly defined entity. As Lehmann¹points out, the term may refer to a symptom, a syndrome, or a nosological entity. We are interested in the depressive syndrome which is often defined as consisting of both primary and secondary symptoms. The primary symptoms in man consist of a despairing emotional state and the depressive mood. The secondary symptoms vary and are less regularly found. They may include such things as social withdrawal, psychomotor retardation, an