Abstract:

Attention deficit and hyperactive disorder （ADHD） is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood. It seriously impairs academic achievement， social interaction， and vocational development， and increases the risk of accidental injury and substance abuse. In some cases， the symptoms may also exert an indirect disruptive effect on public order. Its aetiology involves interactions among genetic， perinatal environmental， and psychosocial factors that cannot be fully disentangled by single clinical studies. Therefore， a systematic evaluation of existing animal models is essential for revealing pathophysiology and developing novel therapies. Using the keywords "attention deficit and hyperactive disorder"， "models， animal"， "validity"， and their English equivalents， we systematically searched PubMed， Web of Science， CNKI， and Wanfang for publications from 2000 to 2025 （retrieving 328 publications） and added further references by citation tracking. Eighty-six rodent ADHD models that provided detailed construction protocols， behavioural assessments， neurobiological mechanisms， or pharmacological data were included and classified into spontaneous genetic， genetically engineered， and environmentally induced paradigms. Their face， construct， and predictive validity were compared. Among spontaneous genetic models， spontaneously hypertensive rats reproduce hyperactivity， impulsivity， and stimulant responses well， yet hypertension and sex differences limit specificity. Acallosal mouse strains link corpus callosum absence to ADHD-like behaviours， but neurotransmitter studies remain scarce. Genetically engineered rodents—including dopamine transporter， neurokinin-1 receptor and mediator complex subunit 23 knockout or conditional gene knockout lines—precisely dissect dopaminergic， noradrenergic， synaptic， or epigenetic pathways， yet generally lack full phenotypic coverage， social-deficit modelling， and comorbidity representation， and are accompanied by adverse effects such as growth retardation or ocular defects. Environmentally induced models employ lead， polychlorinated biphenyls， alcohol， nicotine exposures， 6-hydroxydopamine lesions， neonatal hypoxia， early social isolation， or maternal stress to recapitulate core symptoms. However， dose-schedule standardisation is lacking. Behavioural reversibility diverges from clinical persistence， and non-specific phenotypes such as anxiety or depression are common. Overall， no single paradigm simultaneously achieves high validity across all three dimensions. Currently， ADHD models have progressed from single-factor simulations to multidimensional evaluation， yet significant gaps remain in genetic-background standardisation， sex differences， cross-species translation， and syndrome-differentiation modelling under traditional Chinese medicine. Future directions should integrate genetic， environmental， and epigenetic interactions， establish life-span validation systems， and incorporate computational neuroscience alongside integrative Chinese-Western strategies to enhance clinical relevance and translational utility， thereby providing robust evidence-based support for mechanistic elucidation， drug screening and precision intervention in ADHD.

Key words: Attention deficit and hyperactive disorder, Rodent animal models, Construct validity, Face validity, Predictive validity