Opportunities in CNS drug discovery and development

Historically, the development of animal models for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression has proven to be a challenging task. Indeed, it is difficult to ascertain the level of predictability or validation of an animal model to the human clinical condition. The development of animal models for psychiatric disorders was promoted after the introduction of chlorpromazine for the treatment of schizophrenia in 1954, and again after the introduction of chlordiazepoxide and valium for the treatment of anxiety in the 1960s. These turning points, along with the development of behavioral testing technology in experimental psychology after Skinner’s publication of Behavior of Organisms in 1938, essentially brought into context the fields of psychology and pharmacology, leading to the emergence of the field of psychopharmacology (Carlton, 1983).