Beyer Dominik K E, Freund Nadja
Experimental and Molecular Psychiatry, LWL University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
Int J Bipolar Disord. 2017 Oct 13;5(1):35. doi: 10.1186/s40345-017-0104-6.
Bipolar disorder is characterized by recurrent manic and depressive episodes. Patients suffering from this disorder experience dramatic mood swings with a wide variety of typical behavioral facets, affecting overall activity, energy, sexual behavior, sense of self, self-esteem, circadian rhythm, cognition, and increased risk for suicide. Effective treatment options are limited and diagnosis can be complicated. To overcome these obstacles, a better understanding of the neurobiology underlying bipolar disorder is needed. Animal models can be useful tools in understanding brain mechanisms associated with certain behavior. The following review discusses several pathological aspects of humans suffering from bipolar disorder and compares these findings with insights obtained from several animal models mimicking diverse facets of its symptomatology. Various sections of the review concentrate on specific topics that are relevant in human patients, namely circadian rhythms, neurotransmitters, focusing on the dopaminergic system, stressful environment, and the immune system. We then explain how these areas have been manipulated to create animal models for the disorder. Even though several approaches have been conducted, there is still a lack of adequate animal models for bipolar disorder. Specifically, most animal models mimic only mania or depression and only a few include the cyclical nature of the human condition. Future studies could therefore focus on modeling both episodes in the same animal model to also have the possibility to investigate the switch from mania-like behavior to depressive-like behavior and vice versa. The use of viral tools and a focus on circadian rhythms and the immune system might make the creation of such animal models possible.
双相情感障碍的特征是反复出现躁狂和抑郁发作。患有这种疾病的患者会经历剧烈的情绪波动，伴有各种各样典型的行为表现，影响整体活动、精力、性行为、自我意识、自尊、昼夜节律、认知，以及自杀风险增加。有效的治疗选择有限，诊断可能很复杂。为了克服这些障碍，需要更好地理解双相情感障碍背后的神经生物学机制。动物模型可以成为理解与某些行为相关的大脑机制的有用工具。以下综述讨论了双相情感障碍患者的几个病理方面，并将这些发现与从模拟其症状学不同方面的几种动物模型中获得的见解进行了比较。综述的各个部分集中在与人类患者相关的特定主题上，即昼夜节律、神经递质，重点是多巴胺能系统、应激环境和免疫系统。然后我们解释了如何通过操控这些领域来创建该疾病的动物模型。尽管已经进行了几种方法，但仍然缺乏足够的双相情感障碍动物模型。具体而言，大多数动物模型仅模拟躁狂或抑郁，只有少数模型包括人类病情的周期性。因此，未来的研究可以专注于在同一动物模型中模拟两种发作，从而也有可能研究从躁狂样行为到抑郁样行为的转变，反之亦然。病毒工具的使用以及对昼夜节律和免疫系统的关注可能会使创建此类动物模型成为可能。
