Mouse Model for Human Anxiety and Aggression

A recent study describes the creation of an animal model for studying the causes of abnormal anxiety and aggression brought about by defective early serotonin neuron development. The study appeared in the January 23, 2003, issue of Neuron.

Working with mice, researchers from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH, USA) found that the Pet-1 gene is responsible for the development of serotonin-producing cells in the brains of developing embryos. This discovery was made in a line of mice they had engineered lacking the Pet-1 gene. In mice missing this gene, most serotonin neurons failed to be generated in the fetus and the ones that remained were defective. This led to very low serotonin levels throughout the developing brain, which in turn resulted in altered behavior in adults.

"The behavior of Pet-1 knockout mice is strikingly reminiscent of some human psychiatric disorders that are characterized by heightened anxiety and violence,” explained senior author Dr. Evan Deneris, a neuroscientist at Case Western Reserve.

The authors proposed that their Pet-1 knockout model could be used to test drugs designed to modulate aggressive behavior in humans.




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