Schools of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK.
Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2011 Oct;11(5):534-9. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2011.06.006. Epub 2011 Jul 15.
Inhibition is a fundamental property of behaviour required for flexible responding and humans have evolved executive brain systems that can engage inhibitory processes in order to reduce interference from irrelevant distracting stimuli, block unwanted memories and emotions and suppress inappropriate choices and actions. Without the efficient operation of these inhibitory mechanisms behaviour can become maladaptive, as seen in a large range of disorders where subjects exhibit impulsive responding, such as ADHD, mania, chronic substance abuse and schizophrenia. Animal models are making an increasing contribution to our understanding of the psychology and underlying neurobiology of behavioural inhibition and impulsivity. Here, in this short article we summarise work conducted with rat models, and also discuss recent progress in exploiting the potential of genetically engineered mice. The data so far emphasise the relatively high translational relevance of animal models in this area of behavioural neuroscience. The findings add weight to the existence of dissociable components of impulsive behaviour, they inform the human literature, and may be of significant use in the development of drug therapies to treat the many disorders where failures in behavioural inhibition are prominent.
抑制是行为的基本属性，是灵活反应所必需的，人类已经进化出执行大脑系统，可以进行抑制过程，以减少无关分心刺激的干扰，阻止不必要的记忆和情绪，抑制不当的选择和行为。如果这些抑制机制不能有效地运作，行为就会变得适应不良，如在广泛的障碍中，受试者表现出冲动反应，如 ADHD、躁狂症、慢性物质滥用和精神分裂症。动物模型为我们理解行为抑制和冲动的心理学和神经生物学基础做出了越来越多的贡献。在这里，在这篇短文中，我们总结了用大鼠模型进行的工作，并讨论了利用基因工程小鼠的最新进展。到目前为止的数据强调了动物模型在行为神经科学这一领域具有较高的转化相关性。这些发现增加了冲动行为的可分离成分的存在的可能性，为人类文献提供了信息，并可能在开发药物治疗许多行为抑制突出的障碍方面具有重要用途。
