Neuropharmacology and Behaviural Animal Models

Abstract

Lo studio delle patologie umane richiede spesso l'ausilio di sperimentazioni animali. Generalmente i dati ottenuti in questi modelli permettono di ampliare le conoscenze sui meccanismi eziologici e sul trattamento delle patologie. Perche' un modello sperimentale sia considerato attendibile, deve avere specifici requisiti: face validity, construct validity and predictive validity. Rispettare tali criteri e' di enorme importanza per la ricerca in ambito fisiologico e farmacologico.

The study of human disease often involves performing physiological and pharmacological experiments in animal models. Generally, experimental results obtained in these models are extrapolated to the human situation, providing new insights into disease mechanisms and treatment options. To be able to reliably extrapolate results obtained in animal experiments, it is important to consider the validity of the animal model used, i.e., the extent to which the model mimics the disease. This validity is often characterized by 1) the resemblance in symptoms (face validity), 2) shared etiology and underlying pathophysiological mechanisms (construct validity), and 3) similarity of pharmacological responses (predictive validity). Hence, the analysis of face, construct, and predictive validity of animal models constitutes a very important aspect in the study of disease physiology and pharmacology.