AbstractThis chapter begins with a discussion of the conflicts associated with a rise of a biological psychiatry perspective on mental illness, suggesting that the current preeminence of this viewpoint has aligned clinical psychiatry with behavioral neuroscience for the source of much of its basic science knowledge. It then elaborates on the methods of behavioral neuroscience and shows how this methodology is in fact just what is needed to investigate mechanisms of mental disorders of interest to psychiatry. The chapter attempts to clear up some confusion revolving around the distinction between tests, models, and theories. Finally, it illustrates some of the discussed principles by examining a rat model of a psychiatric illness—obsessive-compulsive disorder.
