Validating Animal Models

Atanasova, Nina A.

doi:10.1387/theoria.12761

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Behavioral models maintain a relationship of analogy with the modeled disorder; that is, a given behavioral model represents a psychopathology. As material analogies, behavioral models are a comparison between the model and its target that is defined in terms of their properties and the relationships between them [2]. Horizontal relationships in an analogy are those of similarity and dissimilarity between the properties of the model and its target, while vertical relationships are the causal relationships that hold between the properties of the model and its target [37].…”

Section: Behavioral Models As Analogiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral models in psychopathology: epistemic and semantic considerations

Maximino

Staay

2019

Behav Brain Funct

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The use of animals in neurosciences has a long history. It is considered indispensable in areas in which “translational” research is deemed invaluable, such as behavioral pharmacology and comparative psychology. Animal models are being used in pharmacology and genetics to screen for treatment targets, and in the field of experimental psychopathology to understand the neurobehavioral underpinnings of a disorder and of its putative treatment. The centrality of behavioral models betrays the complexity of the epistemic and semantic considerations which are needed to understand what a model is. In this review, such considerations are made, and the breadth of model building and evaluation approaches is extended to include theoretical considerations on the etiology of mental disorders. This expansion is expected to help improve the validity of behavioral models and to increase their translational value. Moreover, the role of theory in improving construct validity creates the need for behavioral scientists to fully engage this process.

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Section: Behavioral Models As Analogiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral models in psychopathology: epistemic and semantic considerations

Maximino

Staay

2019

Behav Brain Funct

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“…Given that an ASD diagnosis relies on evaluating behavioral traits, it is important that preclinical models be assessed for their face validity using behavioral assays that seek to mimic those in humans [Atanasova, 2015; Chen et al, 2015; Kazdoba, Leach, & Crawley, 2016; Möhrle et al, 2020; Servadio, Vanderschuren, & Trezza, 2015]. In the present study, we have extended our recent work that characterized low‐level sound processing in Cntnap2 knockout rats to now fully investigate the consequences of a functional loss of Cntnap2 on ASD‐related behaviors by assessing social interactions, behavioral flexibility, spatial learning/memory, and sensory processing at the perceptual level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loss of Cntnap2 in the Rat Causes Autism‐Related Alterations in Social Interactions, Stereotypic Behavior, and Sensory Processing

et al. 2020

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by social interaction and communication impairments, as well as restrictive/repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities, which can coexist with intellectual disability and altered sensory processing. To study the mechanisms underlying these core features of ASD, preclinical research has developed animal models with manipulations in ASD-linked genes, such as CNTNAP2. In order to fully interpret the findings from mechanistic studies, the extent to which these models display behaviors consistent with ASD must be determined. Toward that goal, we conducted an investigation of the consequences of a functional loss of Cntnap2 on ASD-related behaviors by comparing the performance of rats with a homozygous or heterozygous knockout of Cntnap2 to their wildtype littermates across a comprehensive test battery. Cntnap2 −/− rats showed deficits in sociability and social novelty, and they displayed repetitive circling and hyperlocomotion. Moreover, Cntnap2 −/− rats demonstrated exaggerated acoustic startle responses, increased avoidance to sounds of moderate intensity, and a lack of rapid audiovisual temporal recalibration; indicating changes in sensory processing at both the pre-attentive and perceptual levels. Notably, sensory behaviors requiring learned associations did not reveal genotypic differences, whereas tasks relying on automatic/implicit behaviors did. Ultimately, because these collective alterations in social, stereotypic, and sensory behaviors are phenotypically similar to those reported in individuals with ASD, our results establish the Cntnap2 knockout rat model as an effective platform to study not only the molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with ASD, but also the complex relationship between altered sensory processing and other core ASD-related behaviors.

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“…Most philosophers who have investigated animal models in neurobiology have been interested in ethical concerns. Atanasova's (2015) paper starts with familiar points. Specifically, she agrees that arguments to scientific conclusions based on experiments using animal models are a kind of nondeductive argument, specifically, arguments based on material analogies.…”

Section: A Strong Commitment To the Comparative Perspective Is Necessary For Specific Practices In Laboratory Neurobiology That Use Animamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On some occasions, these shared material properties stand in specific biological relationships (homology, homoplasy). The background of Atanasova's (2015) account is the familiar "scientific textbook" account of animal model usage, particular to neurobiology experiments.…”

Section: A Strong Commitment To the Comparative Perspective Is Necessary For Specific Practices In Laboratory Neurobiology That Use Animamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Value of Duane Rumbaugh’s Comparative Perspective—in Neurobiology

Bickle¹

2018

IJCP

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One commonality across the wide-ranging influences Duane Rumbaugh had on late-20th century science was his commitment to the comparative perspective in psychology. I argue here that a commitment similar in force to Rumbaugh’s also infuses mainstream experimental neurobiology. This connection is ironic because Rumbaugh eschewed brain intervention experimentation in vivo throughout his scientific career. Still, the influence and value of a perspective similar to Rumbaugh’s can be found in neurobiology in at least three places. First, recent neurobiology has made good on one of Rumbaugh’s predictions, that rearing and early environment will be shown to influence behavior and cognition in nonprimate animals. Second, the epistemologically justified use of animal models in experimental neurobiology to investigate human brain mechanism presupposes a strong commitment to the comparative perspective. Third, commitment to the comparative perspective raises the most pressing ethical concern in neurobiology, namely, how is it ethical to perform brain intervention experiments on animal models if their brain mechanisms and behaviors compare closely enough with ours to justifiably generalize these experiments’ results?

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Validating Animal Models

Cited by 10 publications

References 22 publications

Behavioral models in psychopathology: epistemic and semantic considerations

Behavioral models in psychopathology: epistemic and semantic considerations

Loss of Cntnap2 in the Rat Causes Autism‐Related Alterations in Social Interactions, Stereotypic Behavior, and Sensory Processing

The Value of Duane Rumbaugh’s Comparative Perspective—in Neurobiology

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