2002/05/01 by Paul Willner, Paul J. Mitchell · 427 citations
Neuroscience · Psychology · Medicine · #Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior #Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior #Stress Responses and Cortisol #Depression (economics) #Face validity #Animal model #Psychology #Construct (python library) #Construct validity #Clinical psychology #Computer science #Medicine #Psychometrics #Internal medicine
paper · doi:10.1097/00008877-200205000-00001
published in Behavioural Pharmacology 13(3), 169-188 (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins)
openalex publication_date 2002/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/27
Some animal models of depression, including the majority of the more recently introduced models, are better characterized as models of predisposition to depression. In the first part of this paper, we show that the basis for such a model could be either a procedure that increases the ease with which an analogue of major depression may be evoked, or a presentation analogous to dysthymia (chronic mild depression). We then consider how the concepts of predictive, face, and construct validity apply to such models. Next, we review the validity of the available models of predisposition to depression, which derive from genetics, genomics, developmental manipulations, and brain lesioning. Finally, we compare the performance of the different models, using a novel scoring system that formalizes the evaluation of animal models against each of the three sets of validation criteria.