Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39802190›Full record

ReviewPeerJ2025

Recognising depression in non-human primates: a narrative review of reported signs of depression.

Jonas C P van Oosten, Annemie Ploeger, Elisabeth H M Sterck

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in PeerJ, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Jonas C P van OostenAnimal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Annemie PloegerDevelopmental Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Elisabeth H M SterckAnimal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-1101-6027

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

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.

Indexed as

DepressionMajor Depressive DisorderPrimatesAnhedoniaAnimalsDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental DisordersHumansAnimal welfareDepressionDiagnostic criteriaDSM-5Non-human primate

Identifiers

PMID39802190
PMCPMC11720972

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.