Table 1.
Advantages and disadvantages of animal models of depression.
| Depression Modeling Approaches | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| Reserpine-induced model | 1. Medium predictive validity 2. Less time-consuming 3. Distinguishes different pharmacological effects |
1. High mortality rate 2. Low construct validity |
| Learned helplessness model | 1. High construct and face validity 2. Covers almost all depression symptoms 3. Imitates neural circuit alterations of depression 4. Benefits genetic investigations |
1. Short depression duration 2. Easily affected by subjective impacts 3. Different species effects |
| Chronic mild stress model | 1. Great face, construct, and predictive validity 2. Benefits the selection of optimal antidepressants 3. Measures anhedonia 4. Helps to find risk factors of depression |
1. Can waste resources and labor 2. High mortality rate 3. Easily affected by environmental impacts |
| Social defeat stress model | 1. Great face, construct, and predictive validity 2. Manifests social interaction 3. Shorter modeling duration |
1. Can be confused with anxiety 2. Cannot model female animals |
| Behavioral tests | ||
| Forced swimming test (FST) | 1. Cheap and fast 2. Highly automated 3. Broad spectrum for antidepressants 4. High predictive validity |
1. High mortality rate 2. Cannot evaluate the etiologic mechanism 3. The immobility time of the forced swimming test (IMFST) measure is insufficiently precise |
| Tail suspension test (TST) | 1. An effective test 2. Low expenditure and man power requirements 3. A supplement to the FST 4. Applies to both mice and rats |
1. Incomplete persuasion protocol 2. Excessive pharmacodynamic effect of antidepressants |
| Open-field test (OFT) | 1. Effective and convenient 2. Less harm to animals 3. Great predictive effect for therapeutic similarity 4. Can detect fear and despair |
1. More time-consuming 2. Insufficiently accurate 3. Sensitive to alterations in the environment |
| Sucrose preference test (SPT) | 1. Can manifest anhedonia 2. Less harm to animals 3. Great for investigating other comorbidities |
1. A time-consuming test to prepare 2. Low accuracy |