title: Two different putative genetic animal models of childhood depression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In an attempt to model childhood depression, we examined whether existing genetic animal models of depression in adult rats are also valid in prepubertal rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two different "depressed" rat lines were studied: the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) and their controls, Sprague-Dawley (SD); and the Wistar Kyoto (WKY) line and their controls, Wistar. We hypothesized that male prepubertal FSL and WKY rats would show increased swim test immobility and different patterns of social play and of basal plasma levels of corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) compared with control rats.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prepubertal FSL and WKY rats exhibited significantly longer duration of immobility than control rats in the swim test. The FSL rats demonstrated significantly higher levels of social play behaviors and lower levels of corticosterone and ACTH compared with SD control rats, whereas WKY rats demonstrated significantly lower levels of social play behaviors and higher plasma levels of corticosterone and ACTH compared with Wistar control rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results might suggest that prepubertal FSL and WKY rats are both putative genetic animal models of childhood depression, exhibiting separate patterns and symptoms of childhood depression.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Program in the Brain Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan.
authors.forename: Oz
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Malkesman
authors.forename: Yoram
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Braw
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maayan
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weizman
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Overstreet
authors.forename: Meytal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shabat-Simon
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kesner
authors.forename: Daphna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Touati-Werner
authors.forename: Gal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yadid
authors.forename: Aron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weller
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D046352:Freezing Reaction, Cataleptic / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012919:Social Behavior; D013045:Species Specificity; D013550:Swimming / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D003345:Corticosterone