Confusing preclinical (predictive) drug screens with animal models' of psychiatric disorders, or disorder-like' behaviour, is undermining confidence in behavioural neuroscience

Preclinical (predictive) screens for psychotropic drugs are often used, incorrectly, as animal models' of psychiatric disorders, or to study disorder-like' behaviours. This misunderstanding is contributing to poor translation and is undermining confidence in behavioural neuroscience. In this editorial, I discuss some of the reasons why the interpretation of results from many of these procedures is dubious because the criteria for validity of the test, as a model of the disorder, have been ignored. Arising from this, I propose that the description of any abnormal behaviour of rodents as a model' of a psychiatric disorder, or even disorder-like', without evidence-based justification, should be regarded as unacceptable in this journal.