Patent ID: 8999293
Filing Date: 2015-04-07
Classification: A01K,A61B,A61K

Abstract:
1. A method to screen for treatment-resistant antidepressant drugs, wherein at least one drug is screened for antidepressant activity in a plurality of fowl chicks with stress vulnerability comprising: a) providing said plurality of fowl chicks with stress vulnerability, wherein a first portion of said plurality of fowl chicks with stress vulnerability receives said at least one drug and a second portion of said plurality of fowl chicks with stress vulnerability do not receive said at least one drug, and wherein said plurality of fowl chicks with stress vulnerability is insensitive to at least two classes of antidepressants selected from tricyclic antidepressants, selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI), and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), and wherein said plurality of fowl chicks with stress vulnerability is sensitive to the N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine; b) audibly separating at least one fowl chick with stress vulnerability individually from said first portion and second portion of fowl chicks with stress vulnerability without noxious stimulus; c) recording distress vocalizations of said at least one individually separated fowl chick with stress vulnerability at a recording time period; d) converting distress vocalizations of said at least one individually separated fowl chick with stress vulnerability over time into a DVocs rate; and e) determining the effectiveness of said at least one drug by evaluating the DVocs rate of said at least one individually separated fowl chick with stress vulnerability from said first portion of fowl chicks with stress vulnerability and from said second portion of fowl chicks with stress vulnerability at said recording time period; wherein said plurality of fowl chicks with stress vulnerability comprises Black Australorps.