Ultrasound model of depression in rodents: A comprehensive analysis of validity, pathogenic mechanisms, and potential for translation to humans.

Abstract

Depression poses a major global health challenge, highlighting the urgent need for valid animal models to elucidate its pathogenesis and develop novel treatments. This review offers a comprehensive characterization and validation of an original rodent model of depression induced by chronic exposure to variable-frequency ultrasound (20-45 kHz), termed the ultrasound model (US-model). We hypothesize that this model uniquely recapitulates a state of "information uncertainty", providing a highly relevant framework for studying depression amid modern urban environments. Based on extensive experimental data collected over 10 years (2013-2024), the model has been systematically evaluated using three key criteria for validity. First, the US-model demonstrates face validity, recapitulating core behavioral abnormalities such as anhedonia, behavioral despair, social withdrawal, anxiety, and cognitive deficits. Second, its construct validity is supported by the faithful reproduction of key pathophysiological mechanisms, including monoamine system dysfunction, impaired neuroplasticity, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hyperactivity. Finally, the model exhibits strong predictive validity, showing sensitivity to various established classes of antidepressants (e.g., fluoxetine, clomipramine), novel compounds (e.g., vindeburnol, neuropeptides), electroconvulsive therapy, and agents with antioxidant or anti-inflammatory properties. Compared to classic models, the US-model may offer several potential advantages such as a relatively high degree of standardization and an arguably more ethical profile, as it is less invasive. In conclusion, the US-model of depression represents a reliable and reproducible tool to investigate the pathogenesis of affective disorders and screen new therapeutic agents.