Primate models of separation-induced depression

Abstract

Nonhuman primates have been shown to demonstrate behavioral and physiologic reactions to social separation that suggest symptoms of clinical depression. Although care must be taken in the use of animal models of psychopathology, it can be argued that in the case of certain affective disorders, including depression, nonhuman primate response to separation meets the criteria for validity. A variety of social, environmental, and genetic factors can influence the separation response in terms of intensity and specific types of symptomatology, and through the use of experimental manipulations, the relative importance of these and other variables in mediating depressive reactions have been studied. The effects of catecholamine depleting drugs (such as AMPT) as well as therapeutic agents on separation-induced depression in monkeys are being studied in an effort to determine underlying mechanisms of depression and particularly how neurochemical factors may interact synergistically with environmental and psychosocial factors in determining severity and nature of depressive reactions to separation.