The Contribution of an Animal Model Toward Uncovering Biological Risk Factors for PTSD
: Clinical studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have elicited proposed risk factors for developing PTSD in the aftermath of stress exposure. Generally, these risk factors have arisen from retrospective analysis of premorbid characteristics of study populations. A valid animal model of PT...
Saved in:
Published in | Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol. 1071; no. 1; pp. 335 - 350 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Malden, USA
Blackwell Publishing Inc
01.07.2006
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | : Clinical studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have elicited proposed risk factors for developing PTSD in the aftermath of stress exposure. Generally, these risk factors have arisen from retrospective analysis of premorbid characteristics of study populations. A valid animal model of PTSD can complement clinical studies and help to elucidate issues, such as the contribution of proposed risk factors, in ways which are not practicable in the clinical arena. Important qualities of animal models include the possibility to conduct controlled prospective studies, easy access to postmortem brains, and the availability of genetically manipulated subjects, which can be tailored to specific needs. When these qualities are further complemented by an approach which defines phenomenologic criteria to address the variance in individual response pattern and magnitude, enabling the animal subjects to be classified into definable groups for focused study, the model acquires added validity. This article presents an overview of a series of studies in such an animal model which examine the contribution of two proposed risk factors and the value of two early postexposure pharmacological manipulations on the prevalence rates of subjects displaying an extreme magnitude of behavioral response to a predator stress paradigm. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ark:/67375/WNG-XPJFVVWZ-C ArticleID:NYAS26 istex:20D5BCA3D0158FEAF768D9631568A9A629ADE049 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISSN: | 0077-8923 1749-6632 |
DOI: | 10.1196/annals.1364.026 |