Forced swim test

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The text on this page is taken from an informal compilation of opinions of contributors to the online VOLE List. As such, they are not peer reviewed and may contain differences of opinion. Those wishing to contact the list may contact Adrian Smith.


Is the use of unescapable electric shocks to induce learned helplessness in rats still used in the UK as a precursor to testing anti-depressants in industry? If so, are there any published refinements to the technique to reduce, or set a limit on the suffering needed to achieve a reliable and validateable effect?

A 2012 paper on using forced swim tests to measure the effects of anti-depressants suggests variable times for the duration of the tests, although 15 minutes seems common. (Slattery,D. Cryan,J. 2012 Using the rat forced swim test to assess anti-depressant like activity in rodents; Nature Protocols 7 1009-1014). Ten years on, is the model still considered reliable, is there an industry standard for duration that is commonly used (or is this dependent on other factors), and are there any recent references for refinements and best practice for conducting FSTs?