Prospects for the development of animal models for the study of bipolar disorder

Attitudes towards the study of lithium on behavior in animals and humans have often been influenced by preconceived notions of the nature of psychiatry and psychopharmacologic treatment. Many psychiatrists would like to see psychopharmacological agents as _afsta quot;magic bullets” in a sense similar to antibiotics. Antibiotics are not expected to have effects on organisms that are not infected with bacteria; effects that do occur are seen as side effects unrelated to the mode of action. Thus neuroleptic dopamine-blocking drugs are believed by many psychiatrists to have no effects on persons who are not psychotic; antidepressants are seen as distinguished from stimulants of abuse as not having mood-elevating effects in the absence of depression. The study of lithium’s effects has often been carried out in a similar tradition. Moreover, lithium is seen as a difficult drug to give to normal volunteers for the period of three weeks or a month that would approximate the amount of time necessary for significant effect on a manic episode.