A Cholinergic Supersensitivity Model of Depression

It is now widely accepted that depressive disorders in humans are heterogeneous. Therefore, it is very likely that several distinctly different animal models of depression can be useful. Because of the heterogeneity of the manifestations of depressive disorders, it is important for developers of animal models to indicate which specific aspects of the illnesses their models mimic. The present chapter will describe the development and essential characteristics of the Flinders Sensitive Line of rats, selectively bred for increased cholinergic function. To provide a background for this discussion, the phenomenology of human depression, with a focus on cholinergic mechanisms and animal models of depression, will be briefly outlined.