[1] The SHR strain was obtained during the 1960s by Okamoto and colleagues, who started breeding Wistar-Kyoto rats with high blood pressure.
[citation needed] Even though SHR is usually considered to be a purely pathological model, the strain exhibit interesting compensatory abilities.
[citation needed] The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR) is also used as a model of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Research by Terje Sagvolden suggested that rats sourced from Charles River Laboratories perform as the best model.
[10] In addition, numerous studies have been conducted in the SHR in relation to other elements of ADHD, for example, looking at the impact of different drug treatments such as atomoxetine and methylphenidate on tests of impulsivity and attention[11] and hyperactivity,[12] investigating possible neural correlates of heightened distractibility in ADHD[13][14] and assessing reward function.