Animal modeling has advanced our understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of human neuropsychiatric disorders and facilitated development of safer, more efficient medications. Similar to humans with depression, rodents exposed to various stress paradigms exhibit aberrant responses to rewarding stimuli, along with hormonal and immunological dysregulation. Development of more complex models, such as social defeat, has led to a firmer grasp of the mechanisms mediating resilience and susceptibility to stress; and adapted versions of social defeat have yielded insights into how emotional stress influences development of mood disorders. This chapter focuses on stress-induced models of mood disorders and outlines how a depression-like phenotype is induced and tested in rodents.
Perinatal Nutrition and Programmed Risk for Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A Focus on Animal Models
