Dictionary of Biological Psychology
The experimental study of animal behaviour and neurobiology in an effort to explore the neural basis of human PSYCHOPATHOLOGY by analogy. Animal models offer the opportunity to exert control over many of the variables which epidemiological research suggests may be influential in the aetiology of psychiatric and neurological disorder, for example, GENOTYPE, early social experience (see SOCIAL ISOLATION) and magnitude, type and duration of environmental STRESS. Physical and pharmacological manipulation of brain function is a core feature. Certain species also offer a relatively short life span, permitting developmental study within a feasible time-scale.
Animal models are used in a variety of ways: these include efforts to predict the efficacy of experimental treatments; or to investigate pathophysiological processes. An example of the former would be the use of the PORSOLT TEST, in which the time rats spend trying to escape from a beaker of water is measured, which (perhaps surprisingly) predicts the ANTI-DEPRESSANT activity of novel compounds. An example of the latter would be bilateral destruction of the hippocampus in primates and measurement of effects on LEARNING tasks in an effort to determine the role of the hippocampus in MEMORY. Which of these approaches is the more valuable is difficult to determine. The use of animals in tests to screen new therapeutic strategies (both pharmacological and surgical) is the more widely publicized and can sometimes appear rather odd to the layman (as with the Porsolt test) though there is always a logic to the test. The use of animals in research to understand basic biological processes is less publicized but is possibly of more benefit: medics and veterinary surgeons cannot deal with bodies unless they have an understanding of how those bodies work.
There has been considerable debate about the morality of using animals in research. This has focused on a number of points, including whether or not it is ethical to use animals in research (regardless of the value of the research) (see ANIMAL WELFARE); and whether or not animal models can reveal anything meaningful about the human condition (that is, does the research have any value?). Some have argued that animal research is misleading and wasteful, pointing to differences in the physiology of humans and animals commonly studied in laboratories.
On the other hand, others have argued that this is not the case and that animal experimentation is critical to both medicine and biology. This debate is explored in a series of reviews in a recent edition of Scientific American.
References
Barnard N.D. & Kaufman S.R. (1997) Animal research is wasteful and misleading. Scientific American 276:64–66.
Botting J.H. & Morrison A.R. (1997) Animal research is vital to medicine. Scientific American 276:67–69.
Mukerjee M. (1997) Trends in animal research. Scientific American 276:70–77.
Rowan A.N. (1997) The benefits and ethics of animal research. Scientific American 276:63.
IAN C.REID AND PHILIP WINN
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