An experimental approach for the study of psychotropic drug effects under simulated clinical conditions.

The sensory contact model can induce various different psychopathological states in male mice (anxious depression, catalepsy, social withdrawal, pathological aggression, cognition disturbances, anhedonia, alcoholism etc.). Additionally, this model facilitates the screening of drugs for therapeutic properties, preventive properties and efficiency under simulated clinical conditions. This approach can reveal the action of drugs at different stages of disease development. It is proposed that this pharmacological approach can be applied for the screening of various novel psychotropic drugs.