<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Depression is one of the most prevalent and life-threatening forms of mental illness affecting about 20% of the population. Depressive disorder as a biochemical phenomenon, was first recognized in the mid-20th century of research, however the etiology of this disease is still not well understood. Although the need to investigate depressive disorders has emerged from the needs of clinical practice, there are many preclinical studies, which brought new insights into this field of research. During experimental work it was crucial to develop appropriate animal models, where the neurohumoral mechanism was similar to humans. In the past decades, several animal models of maternal depression have been developed. We describe the three most popular rodent models of maternal depression which are based on 1. stress prior to gestation, 2. prenatal stress and 3. early life stress. The above-mentioned animal models appear to fulfill many criteria for a relevant animal model of depression; they alter the regulation of the HPA, induce signs of depression-like behavior and several antidepressant treatments can reverse the state induced by maternal stress. Although, they are not able to model all aspects of maternal depression, they are useful models for monitoring neurodevelopmental changes occurring in dams and offspring.</p></abstract>

Depression is one of the most prevalent and life-threatening forms of mental illness affecting about 20% of the population. Depressive disorder as a biochemical phenomenon, was first recognized in the mid-20th century of research, however the etiology of this disease is still not well understood. Although the need to investigate depressive disorders has emerged from the needs of clinical practice, there are many preclinical studies, which brought new insights into this field of research. During experimental work it was crucial to develop appropriate animal models, where the neurohumoral mechanism was similar to humans. In the past decades, several animal models of maternal depression have been developed. We describe the three most popular rodent models of maternal depression which are based on 1. stress prior to gestation, 2. prenatal stress and 3. early life stress. The above-mentioned animal models appear to fulfill many criteria for a relevant animal model of depression; they alter the regulation of the HPA, induce signs of depression-like behavior and several antidepressant treatments can reverse the state induced by maternal stress. Although, they are not able to model all aspects of maternal depression, they are useful models for monitoring neurodevelopmental changes occurring in dams and offspring.

Animal models of maternal depression for monitoring neurodevelopmental changes occurring in dams and offspring

Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Slovak Academy of Sciences

Department of Pharmacology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine

Interdisciplinary Toxicology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Depression is one of the most prevalent and life-threatening forms of mental illness affecting about 20% of the population. Depressive disorder as a...

Animal models of maternal depression for monitoring neurodevelopmental changes occurring in dams and offspring

Publicado en línea: 14 feb 2018

Páginas: 35 - 39

Recibido: 16 ene 2017

Aceptado: 17 mar 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/intox-2017-0005

Palabras clave
rat, animal model, depression, pregnancy

© 2017 Interdisciplinary Toxicology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Animal models of maternal depression for monitoring neurodevelopmental changes occurring in dams and offspring

Publicado en línea: 14 feb 2018

Páginas: 35 - 39

Recibido: 16 ene 2017

Aceptado: 17 mar 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/intox-2017-0005

Palabras claverat, animal model, depression, pregnancy

© 2017 Interdisciplinary Toxicology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Palabras clave
rat, animal model, depression, pregnancy