Zapata 1

David Zapata
Professor Haas
Writing 39C
26 April 2015
HCP First Draft
The distinction between humans and nonhuman animals creates a barrier in terms of
classifying what studies pertain to us or nonhuman animals. Kathy Rudy, a professor of womens
studies at Duke University whose work is spread across many disciplines, states in her book
Loving Animals that new evidence from a number of fields challenges the certainty of these
boundaries and hints at the possibility that humans and other animals may not be as different as
we once believed (Rudy 19). As more similarities are found between humans and other animals,
it becomes more plausible to use animals as models for studies related to humans. This was how
research for psychological disorders in animals began, as a means in finding out how to use them
as models for disorders in humans. I will review various different studies on behavioral and
cognitive disorders in animals, all which began when trying to use them as models for humans.
The specific type of behavioral disorder that I will look at is anxiety, which I will review using
research conducted by Richard Lister in his article Ethologically-based animal models of
anxiety disorders; as well as information provided by Peter Lang, Michael Davis, and Arne
Ohman in their article Fear and anxiety: animal models and human cognitive
psychophysiology. I will also be reviewing research conducted by Brian Cummings, Elizabeth
Head, William Ruehl, Norton Milgram, and Carl Cotman in their article The canine as an
animal model of human aging and dementia. However, these studies are not without their

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controversies. The use of animals in laboratories for research in these subjects are viewed as
unethical by many animal advocacy groups due to the cruelty some of these animals face in these
experiments.
In the scholarly article Ethologically-based animal models of anxiety disorders by
Richard Lister, Lister explores various animal models of anxiety and uses them in the article as a
way to explain the effects of various drugs that could be used to treat certain anxiety disorders in
humans. One of the experiments that Lister describes in his article is the social interaction test. In
this experiment, which was developed by Sandra File of the Neuropharmacology Research
Group at the University of London, Lister explains that pairs of male rats are placed together in a
test arena with a variety of lighting arrangements (330). The rats are then determined to either
have an anxiolytic or anxiogenic profile. Lister defines an anxiolytic profile as an increase in
social interaction independent of change in locomotor activity and an anxiogenic profile as a
decrease in social interaction independent of change in locomotor activity (333). Although the
end results varied depending on the drug that was given to the rats, anxiety almost always
increased when the ambient light level was increased. Lister explains that that the low light
familiar condition [] is the least anxiety-provoking test condition (330). This factor was very
useful as a control in the experiment, as increasing or decreasing the light levels helped reveal
which drug would create an anxiolytic or anxiogenic profile.
In the scholarly article Fear and anxiety: animal models and human cognitive
psychophysiology by Peter Lang, Michael Davis, and Arne Ohman; the cause of anxiety and
fear in various animals are explored through the observations of their behavior in order to relate
them to anxiety and fear in humans. One of the causes that were explored in detail was the
stimulation of the startle reflex. The article states that fear and anxiety can be measured through

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an exaggerated startle reflex to any suddenly imposed stimulus (Lang 139). One of the
stimulations discussed in this article is the exposure of bright light to rats. The scientists explain
that when rats are exposed to a bright light for an extended period (5-20 min) [the rats] show an
increase in the startle reflex, and it is also later stated that light has anxiogenic properties (Lang
145). These explanations are directly supported the information given by Lister in his article, and
both articles even use the same terminology to describe anxiety in rats. Another correlation
between the two articles is the citation of File and how her experiments support these
observations. While the information provided by Lister is focused more towards how these
behaviors can be used as models for the effectiveness of certain drugs, the information in Langs
article goes more into detail on the anatomy of the rat and how the anxiety is caused by the
anxiogenic triggers. For example, Langs article states that the behavioral and neuroendocrine
effects that are exhibited by rats when they displaying fear and anxiety can be attributed to the
corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), which activates the startle reflex (145). Other studies in
Langs article that support the studies presented by Lister include the anatomical targets of light
when exposed to a rat. One of these anatomical targets is the central grey, which is located in the
central nucleus of the amygdala. The amygdala is defined by the scientists as a small, almondshaped structure located deep within the temporal lobe which is believed to be directly involved
in the influence of behaviors that define fear and anxiety. In a diagram shown in Langs article, if
the light targets the central grey, one of the many behaviors of the rats that are affected is their
social interaction (139). This directly supports the specific social interaction experiment
described by Lister in his article. While the studies shown by Lister in his article are presented
for a different objective than the one for Langs article, they both support each other in the end
regarding anxiety in rats.

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In the scholarly article The canine as an animal model of human aging and dementia by
Brian Cummings, Elizabeth Head, William Ruehl, Norton Milgram, and Carl Cotman; canines
are used as models to study brain aging and how it can lead to a better understanding of cognitive
disorders like Alzheimers disease in humans. Similar to Langs article, one of the areas that
Cummings and his colleagues also explored in detail was the anatomy of the animal. In this case,
the similarities between the aging brains of canines were investigated in order to see whether
canines could be used as a model for human aging. In Cummings article, the scientists explain
that aged canines display many similar kinds of neuropathology traits in their brains than of
humans, such as senile plaques, cerebral vascular changes, and neuronal alterations (266). The
article uses anatomical evidence to explain the possible causes of cognitive disorders in a very
similar way Lang and his colleagues used the anatomy of the rat to explain the cause of anxiety
as a behavioral disorder. Cummings article also draws similarities to the studies presented by
Lister by using clinical evidence to support canines as a model for cognitive disorders. Just like
Lister used clinical evidence to show how anxiogenic behaviors were exhibited by rats,
Cummings detailed the clinical tests performed by Ruehl and his coworkers on canines that
included observations on the cognitive and behavioral problems exhibited by the aging canines
and how drugs like Deprenyl affected these behaviors. These tests revealed that this spectrum of
behavioral problems is similar to that observed in people with dementia of the Alzheimer's type
classified at stages 4-6 on the global deterioration scale (Cummings 264). In the end, the animal
model of canines for brain aging showed promise through the support of evidence used in a
similar manner by both Lister and Langs team.
In conclusion, the studies on animals regarding cognitive (brain aging) and behavioral
(anxiety) disorders could be used to support that humans and other animals may not be as

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different as we once believed (Rudy 19). However, a major issue that is presented through the
use of animals in these studies is exactly that: whether the use of animals in laboratories should
be done. The New England Anti-Vivisection Society states that psychology research typically
requires animals to be conscious and aware, and as such may be considered the cruelest of
animal experiments due to the high degree of pain and suffering involved. However, many
argue that these studies are beneficial to animals in the long run, as these studies lead to results
that benefit the health of animals and allow us to understand animals better. But even though
these studies are promising, the real question is whether it is worth putting these poor animals
through harmful research for the sake of more knowledge.

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Works Cited:
"Cognitive-Behavioral Research | Animal Use in Research." New England Anti-Vivisection
Society. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. <http://www.neavs.org/research/cbt>.
Richard G. Lister, Ethologically-based animal models of anxiety disorders, Pharmacology &
Therapeutics, Volume 46, Issue 3, 1990, Pages 321-340, ISSN 0163-7258,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0163-7258(90)90021-S.
Rudy, Kathy. Loving Animals: Toward a New Animal Advocacy. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota,
2011. Print.
Brian J. Cummings, Elizabeth Head, William Ruehl, Norton W. Milgram, Carl W. Cotman, The
canine as an animal model of human aging and dementia, Neurobiology of Aging, Volume 17,
Issue 2, MarchApril 1996, Pages 259-268, ISSN 0197-4580, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/01974580(95)02060-8.
Peter J Lang, Michael Davis, Arne hman, Fear and anxiety: animal models and human
cognitive psychophysiology, Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 61, Issue 3, 2 December
2000, Pages 137-159, ISSN 0165-0327, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0327(00)00343-8.