Molecular and Functional Models in Neuropsychiatry

The development of more effective treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders requires scientific progress on a broad front. Animal models have a vital role to play in advancing the field. When deployed in conjunction with detailed study of these diseases in man they bring the power to make controlled experimental interventions which allow the functional consequences of genetic variations and polymorphisms to be understood in terms of their cellular, systems and behavioural effects. Further, they provide a means by which complex cognitive and behavioural phenomena may be dissected and understood. Finally, they provide a bridge to understanding the effects of drugs on the functioning of the central nervous system, thereby improving our understanding of the actions of those drugs in man.

Common neuropsychiatric diseases are associated with significant human and economic cost. The development of more effective treatments requires scientific progress on a broad front and animal models have a vital role to play in these advances, enabling exploration of the functional consequences of molecular changes at the cellular, systems and behavioural levels. This volume discusses some of the latest and most exciting advances in the field. The first five chapters consider developments in gene modification techniques, their applications in vivo across a variety of species and the latest work related to Schizophrenia, Huntington’s Disease and Major Depressive Disorder. Three chapters then focus on recent developments in Autism, Drug Dependence and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In the final four chapters consideration is given to the development of models in larger species and to emergent approaches, such as epigenetic regulation, gene X environment interactions and MRI as a tool for understanding the function of neuronal systems in non- human species, all of which are likely to play an increasingly important role in the scientific discourse related to neuropsychiatric diseases.