Domain interplay concept in animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders: A new strategy for high-throughput neurophenotyping research

• Published in: Behavioural brain research 2008-04, Vol.188 (2), p.243-249
• Main Authors: Kalueff, Allan V., Ren-Patterson, Renee F., LaPorte, Justin L., Murphy, Dennis L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Behavioral psychophysiology; Behavioral/psychiatric phenotypes; Biological and medical sciences; Brain disorders; Comorbidity; Disease Models, Animal; Domain interplay; Environment. Living conditions; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene × environment interaction; Genetic animal models; Genetic Predisposition to Disease - genetics; Humans; Medical sciences; Mental Disorders - genetics; Mental Disorders - physiopathology; Mutant and transgenic animals; Phenotype; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
• ISSN: 0166-4328; 1872-7549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2007.11.011

Genetic and environmental factors play a key role in psychiatric disorders. While some disorders display exceptionally high heritability, others show gene × experience × personality interactions, contributing complexity to psychiatric phenotypes. As some brain disorders frequently overlap and co-occur (representing a continuum or spectrum of phenomena), modern psychiatry is shifting from “artificial” heterogeneity to the recognition of common elements in the pathogenesis of emotional, personality and behavioral disorders. Genetic animal models of these disorders represent an important direction of research, and are widely used to explore the role of different genes in brain mechanisms. Several concepts (such as endophenotypes, gene × environment interactions, and cross-species trait genetics) have been suggested for animal experimentation in this field. Here we develop a new concept based on targeting the complex interplay between different behavioral domains, meant to foster high-throughput phenotyping and integrative modeling of psychiatric disorders.