Animal models of neuropsychiatry revisited: A personal tribute to Teitelbaum

Several themes and principles of behavioural neuroscience are evident in the work of Phillip Teitelbaum. He has emphasised the importance of studying behaviour in simple preparations, of re-synthesising complex behavioural patterns from these elemental ‘building-blocks’ and understanding their often hierarchical organisation. He also more recently has become interested in the possible power of behavioural endophenotypes. His work has resulted in a new emphasis on animal neuropsychology which is highly relevant to human psychopathology. This article illustrates these themes from examples taken from animal models of sensory neglect, drug addiction and cognitive syndromes associated with schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

► Review of Teitelbaum's empirical and theoretical contribution. ► Principles and themes of behavioural neuroscience. ► Basic building blocks of behaviour: from Pavlovian condition to drug-seeking behaviour. ► Endophenotypes in translation. ► Drug addiction as a successful animal model of neuropsychiatry. ► Basic building blocks of cognition: animal models of set-shifting and decision-making and their relevance to psychiatry.