Non-specificity of "behavioral despair" as an animal model of depression.
When mice are forced to swim in a restricted space, they will cease attempts to escape and adopt a characteristic immobile posture which can be readily identified and timed. Imipramine decreased the duration of immobility in a 4 min swimming test in a dose-related manner. Likewise, caffeine, triiodothyronine and pentobarbital reduced immobility. These latter findings shed doubt upon the specificity of the behavioral despair swimming test to identify substances with antidepressant activity.
D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007099:Imipramine / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D012149:Restraint, Physical; D013550:Swimming; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000494:pharmacology
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D007099:Imipramine