Table 2 Major categories of validity relevant to the assessment of animal models of BD.
Type of Validity | Description |
|---|---|
Homological validity | Appropriateness of the species and strain of the animal model to study aspect(s) of the human mental disorder. |
Pathogenic validity | Tendency of the animal model to display pathological processes that resemble those of the human disorder. These pathological processes include early environmental factors that render an organism vulnerable to develop the disorder later in life and triggering factors that impact a vulnerable or a control organism in adulthood and lead to the disorder. |
Mechanistic validity | Similarity of the mechanism of disease in the animal model to the actual or hypothesized mechanism underlying the onset/maintenance of the human disorder. The mechanism may be behavioral or neurobiological in nature. |
Face validity | Consistency of observations between the animal model and the human disorder, including behaviors and biomarkers. |
Predictive validity | Effectiveness of the animal model in mirroring the etiology of disease onset and the response to a therapeutic agent (drug or other treatment) in the human disorder. |
