Mice Models for the Manic Pole of Bipolar Disorder

The lack of appropriate animal models for bipolar disorder (BPD) is a major factor hindering the research of  its pathophysiology and the development of new drug treatments. One approach for the development of better models for the disorder is to separately model a number of its critical behavioral domains. In line with this approach, the current chapter describes a number of tests, which have been validated in the context of mania in Black Swiss mice. These tests include sweet-solution preference test, representing reward seeking (see Protocol 2), resident–intruder test, representing aggression/intrusion (see Protocol 3), and a variation of the forced-swim test, representing increased vigor and resistance to despair (see Protocol 4). The chapter also include a protocol for assessing spontaneous activity (see Protocol 1), since this test is critical for the interpretation of results from the other tests. It is suggested that these tests can be used independently for the study of different domains of the manic pole of BPD, and that pending further validation, they could be integrated into a coherent and continuous test battery that may also include tests for additional domains of BPD. The use of tests for distinct domains of BPD, either separately or as a continuous battery, can potentially be utilized to screen new drug treatments, to distinguish between specific effects of drugs and to explore the mechanisms underlying mania and BPD.