1Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China

Abstract 

Modeling brain disorders has always been one of the key tasks in neurobiological studies. A wide range of organisms including worms, fruit flies, zebrafish, and rodents have been used for modeling brain disorders. However, whether complicated neurological and psychiatric symptoms can be faithfully mimicked in animals is still debatable. In this review, we discuss key findings using non-human primates to address the neural mechanisms underlying stress and anxiety behaviors, as well as technical advances for establishing genetically-engineered non-human primate models of autism spectrum disorders and other disorders. Considering the close evolutionary connections and similarity of brain structures between non-human primates and humans, together with the rapid progress in genome-editing technology, non-human primates will be indispensable for pathophysiological studies and exploring potential therapeutic methods for treating brain disorders.

Keywords

Non-human primates, Brain disorders, Genome editing, Autism, Neurological disorders, Psychiatric disorders

[SpringerLink]