Psychology researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso are studying the biological underpinnings of depression, a common mental health disorder affecting millions worldwide. In a recent study, psychologist Sergio Iñiguez and his team propose using prairie voles as animal models for studying depression. The voles displayed symptoms of depression after being exposed to chronic stress, making them ideal for further research into the biological factors contributing to mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.
The study focused on the impact of “bullying” on voles’ behavior, with researchers observing how individual male voles reacted to being bullied by more dominant males over a period of ten days. The bullied voles showed changes in body weight, performed poorly on memory tests, and displayed reduced sociability compared to non-bullied voles. Furthermore, bullied voles showed no preference for sugar water, a sign of anhedonia or a loss of pleasure in regular activities, indicating symptoms similar to those seen in depressed humans.
The researchers concluded that the experience of “social defeat” triggered a stress response in the voles, leading to symptoms resembling depression in humans. Iñiguez, a professor at UTEP specializing in behavioral neuroscience, highlighted the difficulty in fully understanding the biology behind depression due to ethical constraints on human research. Prairie voles offer a unique opportunity for studying depression as they share similarities with humans in their social behaviors, such as monogamous relationships and parental care of offspring, setting them apart from more commonly used rats and mice.
Minerva Rodriguez, a doctoral student in psychology, led the study and emphasized the voles’ value in shedding light on depression through their distinct social behaviors. Future research will explore how voles recover from depression-like experiences and how they respond to common antidepressant medications like Prozac and ketamine. The project is funded by the National Institutes of Health, providing critical support for further investigations into the neurobiology of social stress-induced depression using prairie voles as a model organism.
The study’s findings are significant as they demonstrate that prairie voles can exhibit core symptoms of depression after experiencing chronic stress, mirroring human responses to similar stressors. By utilizing voles as animal models, researchers hope to uncover the biological mechanisms underlying depression, paving the way for more effective treatments and interventions for individuals suffering from this debilitating condition. The unique social behaviors and characteristics of prairie voles make them well-suited for studying depression and related mental health disorders in ways that traditional laboratory animals cannot replicate.
Through their research with prairie voles, the UTEP team aims to deepen our understanding of depression, particularly how social stressors contribute to the development of depressive symptoms. By investigating the biological pathways involved in depression in a controlled laboratory setting, researchers can gain insights into potential treatment strategies and preventive measures to alleviate the burden of depression on individuals and society at large. Overall, this study represents a promising step towards unravelling the complex interplay between biology and psychology in mental health disorders like depression.
