Abstract
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.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 18766 |
Journal | PeerJ |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:Copyright 2025 van Oosten et al.
Keywords
- Animal welfare
- Depression
- Diagnostic criteria
- DSM-5
- Non-human primate