Edited by: Undine E. Lang
Series: Zeitschrift für Psychologie - Volume 25
ISBN: 9780889374782
2015, iv/60 pages
New insights into how investigating animal behavior can help address issues in human mental health
Most clinical observations and psychopathological symptoms in humans can be linked to basic neurobiological, experimental, behavioral, and interventional observations in animals. Some psychiatric disorders and behavioral traits seem identical in mice and men (e.g., depression, anxiety, addiction), while others have been indirectly studied by biological endophenotypical traits (schizophrenia, dementia, autism). The present volume aims to highlight the role of animal behavior in neurobiological and psychological basic research, in behavioral models of psychiatric disorders, and in approaches to the treatment of psychiatric patients.
Topics covered include:
- behavioral tests that address symptoms of depression and anxiety
- inflammatory and immunological processes connected with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia
- molecular pathways potentially relevant to the pathophysiology of affective disorders
- the influence of early stress, maternal nutrition, social stress, and developmental influences on offspring outcomes
- animal-assisted therapy in the treatment of depression
