Behavioral Pharmacology as the Main Approach to Study the Efficiency of Potential Psychotropic Drugs: Analysis of Modern Methods (Review)

Abstract

Introduction. Behavioral methods on laboratory animals are recognized as the main approach in studying the activity of potential psychotropic drugs and allow us to evaluate the main effects of new compounds, increase the possibility of predicting a successful outcome of future clinical trials.Text. This review article analyzes the main modern behavioral models in rodents that are widely used for screening and studying the pharmacological activity of potential psychotropic drugs. The advantages and disadvantages of each test are highlighted and complexes of behavioral methods are demonstrated that most conclusively confirm the reproducibility of the results obtained in clinical trials. The description and evaluation of behavioral methods that characterize the state of anxiety, which are used to screen for new compounds with anxiolytic activity (tests «Open field», «Dark-light chamber», «Elevated plus maze», «Sequence of rays»). The range of tests used to study cognitive functions and memory processes is widely presented (various mazes – T-shaped, U-shaped, radial maze, Barnes maze, E-maze; water mazes – Morris, T-maze) with a description of a comparative analysis and necessary conditions that ensure the reliability of information. An important direction in the field of behavioral pharmacology is the modeling of violations of social behavior and the study of approaches for its correction – the main methods necessary for the study of social behavior are presented in the review by the tests «Three-chamber social test», «Open field» extended test, etc.Conclusion. Behavioral pharmacology dictates the need for close interaction between preclinical and clinical stages of research in the framework of the development of translational medicine and the development of approaches that provide evidence for the reproducibility of the results obtained in clinical trials. It is also necessary to improve existing and develop new behavioral models of mental disorders and to search for new ways to study the mechanisms of formation of behavioral disorders.

Keywords

• behavioral methods
• psychopharmacology
• cognitive functions
• anxiety disorders
• psychopathological conditions
• video tracking