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Genetic Animal Models of Depression

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Transgenic and Mutant Tools to Model Brain Disorders

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 44))

Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

Supported by NARSAD YI Award, Georgetown University Stress Physiology and Research Center (SPaRC), and Tulane University Intramural Research Funds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Tulane University Medical School, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Peter R. Canavello, Peter C. Hart, Jonathan M. Cachat & Allan V. Kalueff

  2. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University Medical School, Washington, DC, USA

    Rupert J. Egan & Carisa L. Bergner

Authors
  1. Peter R. Canavello
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  2. Rupert J. Egan
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  3. Carisa L. Bergner
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  4. Peter C. Hart
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  5. Jonathan M. Cachat
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  6. Allan V. Kalueff
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Allan V. Kalueff .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Tulane University, Tulane Ave. 1430, New Orleans, 70112, U.S.A.

    Allan V. Kalueff

  2. E. Pittsburgh Ave. 235, Milwaukee, 53204, U.S.A.

    Carisa L. Bergner

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© 2010 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Canavello, P.R., Egan, R.J., Bergner, C.L., Hart, P.C., Cachat, J.M., Kalueff, A.V. (2010). Genetic Animal Models of Depression. In: Kalueff, A., Bergner, C. (eds) Transgenic and Mutant Tools to Model Brain Disorders. Neuromethods, vol 44. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-474-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-474-6_10

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60761-473-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60761-474-6

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