The Forced Swim Test is a rodent behavioral assay in which a mouse or rat is placed in an inescapable cylinder of water, and the main readout is the time spent immobile versus active escape-related behaviors such as swimming or climbing. Reduced immobility after treatment has historically been interpreted as antidepressant-like activity, but the assay should be interpreted as a behavioral response to acute inescapable stress rather than a complete model of human depression.
Forced Swim Test (FST)
The forced swim test (FST) is an experiment commonly used to evaluate the emotional state and the effect of antidepressant drugs in mice or rats. In experiments, animals are forced to swim in water for a period of time, and their subsequent surfacing and movements are used as a measure of depressive-like behavior. Antidepressant drugs often extend the swimming time of animals and are considered to have antidepressant effects. FST is widely used for drug screening and understanding the neurobiological basis of depressive symptoms, but it is also subject to some ethical and methodological controversies.
Related Experimental Schemes
