An Animal Model for Psychopharmacological Research with Relevance to Psychiatry *

The concept is presented that animal models for psychopharmacological research should take into account clinical methods if they are to yield information which is relevant to psychiatry. Animal species with appropriate behavioural characteristics should be selected, drugs should be administered chronically and groups of animals should be used if social interaction is to be observed. Some of the relevant pharmacological, behavioural and environmental factors are presented and illustrated with examples taken from a study on groups of squirrel monkeys who had received parachlorophenylalanine or alpha-methylparatyrosine to lower specific brain amines. It is noted that social interaction may affect the expression of the drug effect.