Rodent models of anxiety-like behaviors: are they predictive for compounds acting via non-benzodiazepine mechanisms?

Abstract

An overview of the preclinical literature on the effects of the most studied clinically effective or putative non-benzodiazepine anxiolytics in existing animal models of anxiety-like behavior indicates that, with the exception of 5-HT1A agonists, these compounds display highly variable effects. Because these drugs have been shown (selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors) or proposed (CCK(B) and CRF antagonists) to have a different spectrum of therapeutic activity in anxiety disorders than benzodiazepines, agents mainly used against generalized anxiety disorder, the screening of such compounds clearly requires the validation of new techniques that may model aspects of these conditions.