Recognising depression in non-human primates: a narrative review of reported signs of depression
Major depressive disorder (depression) is a highly heterogenous human mental disorder that may have equivalents in non-human animals. Research into non-human depression teaches us about human depression and can contribute to enhance welfare of non-human animals. Here, we narratively review how signs...
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| Format: | Article |
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PeerJ Inc.
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/18766.pdf |
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| author | Jonas C. P. van Oosten Annemie Ploeger Elisabeth H. M. Sterck |
| author_facet | Jonas C. P. van Oosten Annemie Ploeger Elisabeth H. M. Sterck |
| author_sort | Jonas C. P. van Oosten |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Major depressive disorder (depression) is a highly heterogenous human mental disorder that may have equivalents in non-human animals. Research into non-human depression teaches us about human depression and can contribute to enhance welfare of non-human animals. Here, we narratively review how signs of depression in non-human primates (NHPs) can be observed based on symptoms of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Furthermore, we propose diagnostic criteria of NHP depression and we review reports on signs of depression in NHPs. We diagnose an NHP with depression when it shows a core sign (depressed mood or anhedonia) alongside at least three other DSM-5-derived signs of depression. Results show that four out of six observable signs of depression are present in NHPs, occasionally lasting for months. However, only a group of six NHPs in one study met our proposed criteria for a diagnosis of depression. We call for more research into the co-occurrence of depressive symptoms in individual NHPs to establish the prevalence of depression in NHPs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2a16df833b1344d488966ff523f36830 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj-art-2a16df833b1344d488966ff523f368302025-01-09T15:05:14ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592025-01-0113e1876610.7717/peerj.18766Recognising depression in non-human primates: a narrative review of reported signs of depressionJonas C. P. van Oosten0Annemie Ploeger1Elisabeth H. M. Sterck2Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsDevelopmental Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsAnimal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsMajor depressive disorder (depression) is a highly heterogenous human mental disorder that may have equivalents in non-human animals. Research into non-human depression teaches us about human depression and can contribute to enhance welfare of non-human animals. Here, we narratively review how signs of depression in non-human primates (NHPs) can be observed based on symptoms of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Furthermore, we propose diagnostic criteria of NHP depression and we review reports on signs of depression in NHPs. We diagnose an NHP with depression when it shows a core sign (depressed mood or anhedonia) alongside at least three other DSM-5-derived signs of depression. Results show that four out of six observable signs of depression are present in NHPs, occasionally lasting for months. However, only a group of six NHPs in one study met our proposed criteria for a diagnosis of depression. We call for more research into the co-occurrence of depressive symptoms in individual NHPs to establish the prevalence of depression in NHPs.https://peerj.com/articles/18766.pdfDepressionNon-human primateDiagnostic criteriaDSM-5Animal welfare |
| spellingShingle | Jonas C. P. van Oosten Annemie Ploeger Elisabeth H. M. Sterck Recognising depression in non-human primates: a narrative review of reported signs of depression PeerJ Depression Non-human primate Diagnostic criteria DSM-5 Animal welfare |
| title | Recognising depression in non-human primates: a narrative review of reported signs of depression |
| title_full | Recognising depression in non-human primates: a narrative review of reported signs of depression |
| title_fullStr | Recognising depression in non-human primates: a narrative review of reported signs of depression |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recognising depression in non-human primates: a narrative review of reported signs of depression |
| title_short | Recognising depression in non-human primates: a narrative review of reported signs of depression |
| title_sort | recognising depression in non human primates a narrative review of reported signs of depression |
| topic | Depression Non-human primate Diagnostic criteria DSM-5 Animal welfare |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/18766.pdf |
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