First Author | Kalueff AV | Year | 2006 |
Journal | Neuroreport | Volume | 17 |
Issue | 12 | Pages | 1347-51 |
PubMed ID | 16951583 | Mgi Jnum | J:112396 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3656198 | Doi | 10.1097/01.wnr.0000230514.08962.76 |
Citation | Kalueff AV, et al. (2006) Are serotonin transporter knockout mice 'depressed'?: hypoactivity but no anhedonia. Neuroreport 17(12):1347-51 |
abstractText | Although the serotonin transporter is a key target for antidepressants, its exact role in depression etiology remains unclear. While serotonin transporter knockout mice are a potential model to examine this problem, their depression profile is unclear in several 'despair' tests, and may be confounded by their hypoactivity phenotype (confirmed here by marble-burying and bedding tests). To assess depression in these mice, we evaluated wild-type, heterozygous, and serotonin transporter knockout C57BL/6 male mice on a well-validated, anhedonia-based depression paradigm, the sucrose preference test. Overall, all three genotypes showed similar sucrose preference, indicating an unaltered hedonic state. These results demonstrate that depression-like behavior (unlike hypoactivity) is not a baseline phenotypic feature of serotonin transporter knockout mice, suggesting anew that these mice do not represent a genetic model of depression. |