Genetic Animal Models of Depression

Depression, as part of a larger class of affective disorders, is one of the world’s most deleterious and widespread neurobehavioral diseases. However, much remains to be discovered concerning depression, due to the daunting complexity of its pathological mechanisms and etiology. Various animal models have been proposed over the years, some of which have come into widespread use, particularly in the area of pharmacological screening. By combining behavioral and physiological analyses with mutant and transgenic animal models, researchers are able to determine the role of specific genes and proteins in the pathogenesis of depression. Discussing several behavioral and transgenic/mutant rodent models, this chapter briefly summarizes the current progress in this area of psychiatric research.