Depression is a chronic,recurring and potentially life-threatening illness that affects up to 20%of the population across the world.Despite its prevalence and considerable impact on human,little is known about its pat...Depression is a chronic,recurring and potentially life-threatening illness that affects up to 20%of the population across the world.Despite its prevalence and considerable impact on human,little is known about its pathogenesis.One of the major reasons is the restricted availability of validated animal models due to the absence of consensus on the pathology and etiology of depression.Besides,some core symptoms such as depressed mood,feeling of worthlessness,and recurring thoughts of death or suicide,are impossible to be modeled on laboratory animals.Currently,the criteria for identifying animal models of depression rely on either of the 2 principles：actions of known antidepressants and responses to stress.This review mainly focuses on the most widely used animal models of depression,including learned helplessness,chronic mild stress,and social defeat paradigms.Also,the behavioral tests for screening antidepressants,such as forced swimming test and tail suspension test,are also discussed.The advantages and major drawbacks of each model are evaluated.In prospective,new techniques that will be beneficial for developing novel animal models or detecting depression are discussed.展开更多
Sini Power（SP） is a famed traditional Chinese formula that has long been used to treat depression. Here, we investigated the effects and possible mechanisms of SP extract on an established model of depression： chro...Sini Power（SP） is a famed traditional Chinese formula that has long been used to treat depression. Here, we investigated the effects and possible mechanisms of SP extract on an established model of depression： chronic stressed tree shrew, which mimics the human condition of social stress. The animals were divided into 4 groups. Except for the na？ve group, the other animals were subjected to daily social defeat stress for 5 weeks, and during the last 4 weeks treated with SP extract（3.6 g/kg/d）, fluoxetine（15 mg/kg/d）, and vehicle, respectively. The results showed that SP extract could reverse body weight loss to a certain extent and reduce the levels of urine/serum cortisol that were initially increased by chronic social defeat. In addition, SP extract increased hippocampus norepinephrine concentrations. Our data suggested that SP extract had positive effects on the main depression symptoms in the chronic stressed tree shrew model and that it may be used to help control hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity.展开更多
文摘Depression is a chronic,recurring and potentially life-threatening illness that affects up to 20%of the population across the world.Despite its prevalence and considerable impact on human,little is known about its pathogenesis.One of the major reasons is the restricted availability of validated animal models due to the absence of consensus on the pathology and etiology of depression.Besides,some core symptoms such as depressed mood,feeling of worthlessness,and recurring thoughts of death or suicide,are impossible to be modeled on laboratory animals.Currently,the criteria for identifying animal models of depression rely on either of the 2 principles：actions of known antidepressants and responses to stress.This review mainly focuses on the most widely used animal models of depression,including learned helplessness,chronic mild stress,and social defeat paradigms.Also,the behavioral tests for screening antidepressants,such as forced swimming test and tail suspension test,are also discussed.The advantages and major drawbacks of each model are evaluated.In prospective,new techniques that will be beneficial for developing novel animal models or detecting depression are discussed.
基金National Basic Research Program of China(Grant No.2011CB505100)funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China
文摘Sini Power（SP） is a famed traditional Chinese formula that has long been used to treat depression. Here, we investigated the effects and possible mechanisms of SP extract on an established model of depression： chronic stressed tree shrew, which mimics the human condition of social stress. The animals were divided into 4 groups. Except for the na？ve group, the other animals were subjected to daily social defeat stress for 5 weeks, and during the last 4 weeks treated with SP extract（3.6 g/kg/d）, fluoxetine（15 mg/kg/d）, and vehicle, respectively. The results showed that SP extract could reverse body weight loss to a certain extent and reduce the levels of urine/serum cortisol that were initially increased by chronic social defeat. In addition, SP extract increased hippocampus norepinephrine concentrations. Our data suggested that SP extract had positive effects on the main depression symptoms in the chronic stressed tree shrew model and that it may be used to help control hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity.
