Selecting an appropriate stress model of depression in rodents

Abstract

Despite the well-established functions of neurotransmitters and their receptors in depression studies, the aetiology of depression remains unknown. Further research into the field of animal studies is required in order to facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the development of depression. While the potential of animal behaviour to elucidate the molecular underpinnings of depression remains to be elucidated, the establishment of animal models can facilitate the identification of analogous pathogenic pathways through the application of rigorous methodologies. Animal models that are suitable for simulating the illness state of human depression can be utilised to investigate the pathophysiology of depression and the development of novel antidepressant medications. Currently, there is an absence of an optimal animal model that can fully replicate the pathogenic pathways of human depression, which limits future research in this field. It is evident that stress constitutes the primary catalyst for the onset of depressive states, a phenomenon that has been observed in both human and animal subjects. From this standpoint, animal models of stress-induced depression should be better equipped to simulate the onset process of human depression. This study offers a comprehensive summary and analysis of the most frequently employed rodent models of depression, with a view to providing a more diverse range of models and resources for animal studies in the field of depression research.

Keywords: Stress model; Rodent animals model; Stressor; Depression; Animal model of depression

Core Tip: Although there has been extensive research on depression through animal models, it is undeniable that it is challenging to directly and comprehensively find stress-related depression animal models in the literature. This is because existing studies mostly lump together stress, medication, genetic, and surgical factors in summarizing depression models without clear differentiation. Based on this, we have conducted the first relatively comprehensive summary of depression models caused by stress.