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Feeling Strained? Influence of Genetic Background on Depression-Related Behavior in Mice: A Review

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Abstract

Depression is a growing pandemic in developed societies. The use of inbred mouse strains in pre-clinical psychiatric research has proven to be a valuable resource. Firstly, they provide the background for genetic manipulations that aid in the discovery of molecular pathways that may be involved in major depression. Further, inbred mouse strains are also being used in the determination of genetic and environmental influences that may pre-dispose or trigger depression-related behavior. This review aims to highlight the utility of inbred mouse strains in depression research, while providing an overview of the current state of research into behavioral differences between strains in paradigms commonly used in the field. Neurochemical differences that may underlie strain differences are examined, and some caveats and cautions associated with the use of inbred strains are highlighted.

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Acknowledgments

These authors were supported by the National Institutes of Mental Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse grant U01 MH69062.

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  1. Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland

    L. H. Jacobson

  2. Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, Cork City, Ireland

    J. F. Cryan

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Jacobson, L.H., Cryan, J.F. Feeling Strained? Influence of Genetic Background on Depression-Related Behavior in Mice: A Review. Behav Genet 37, 171–213 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-006-9106-3

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