Animal models in biomedical research are at best hypothetical analogue models (HAMs) and not causal analogue models (CAMs), and therefore cannot be reliably used for extrapolation to humans.
A simplified version or stand-in for something more complex that you're trying to understand—like using a mouse to study human disease because mice are similar to humans in some ways.
Biomedical research(in medical science)
Scientific studies aimed at understanding diseases and developing treatments, often involving experiments on animals or cells before testing on humans.
Extrapolation(as a criticism of assuming the universe must have a supernatural cause)
Drawing a conclusion that goes beyond what the evidence actually supports; making a guess that stretches further than the facts allow.
causal analogue model (CAM)(Biomedical research methodology; introduced by LaFollette and Shanks)
A model that can be used to make reliable predictions about a target population of interest, requiring the absence of causally relevant disanalogies between model and target.
hypothetical analogue model (HAM)(Biomedical research methodology; introduced by LaFollette and Shanks)
A model that can only be used heuristically, as a source of hypotheses that must be independently tested on the target population rather than directly extrapolated to it.
This inferential problem has led some commentators to maintain highly skeptical views concerning our ability to use animals as models for humans in biomedical research. Hugh LaFollette and Niall Shanks argue that animal models cannot be reliably used for extrapolation at all, but at best only heuristically, as sources of hypotheses that have to be tested on humans (LaFollette and Shanks 1997). They introduce two terms to make their argument: causal analogue model (CAM) and hypothetical analogue
Extraction notes
Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks