title: Animal models of post-traumatic stress disorder.
abstract: Animal behavioral studies have commonly regarded the entire group of animals subjected to the study conditions as homogeneous, disregarding individual differences in response patterns. The following discussion will focus on a method of analyzing data that aims to model clinical diagnostic criteria applied to individual patterns of response using data from behavioral measures, and employing cut-off scores to distinguish between extremes of response versus non-response and the sizeable proportion of study subjects in-between them. This protocol unit will present the concept of the model and its background, provide detailed protocols for each of its components, and present a selection of studies employing and examining the model, alongside the underlying translational rationale of each.
authors.affiliation: Israel Ministry of Health Mental Health Center, Anxiety and Stress Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Hagit
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Matar
authors.forename: Zohar
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Joseph
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D035843:Biomedical Research; D003463:Cues; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D051379:Mice; D051381:Rats; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000503:physiopathology