Preclinical contract research: animal models of neurological disorders:

Depression

Recent work in depression has focused on symptoms not improved by conventional anti-depressants, such as motivational dysfunction (lethargy, lack of interest in  completing simple tasks, a bias toward low-reward activity, etc.).  One of the labs in NDI’s network has been especially active in this area, using an effort-related choice task in rodents, in which one choice yields a highly valued reward while the other choice yields a lesser-valued reward.  This particular model has been used to investigate the potential therapeutic value of dopamine transporter inhibitors, among other agents.