Abstract
A MAJOR problem in the search for new antidepressant drugs is the lack of animal models which both resemble depressive illness and are selectively sensitive to clinically effective antidepressant treatments. We have been working on a new behavioural model in the rat which attempts to meet these two requirements. The method is based on the observation that a rat, when forced to swim in a situation from which there is no escape, will, after an initial period of vigorous activity, eventually cease to move altogether making only those movements necessary to keep its head above water. We think that this characteristic and readily identifiable behavioural immobility indicates a state of despair in which the rat has learned that escape is impossible and resigns itself to the experimental conditions. This hypothesis receives support from results presented below which indicate that immobility is reduced by different treatments known to be therapeutic in depression including three drugs, iprindole, mianserin and viloxazine which although clinically active1–3 show little or no ‘antidepressant’ activity in the usual animal tests4–6.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ayd, F. J. Dis. Nerv. Syst. 30, 818–824 (1969).
Itil, T. M., Hsu, W. & Polvan, N. Curr. Ther. Res. clin. Exp. 14, 395–413 (1972).
Vivalan Symposium J. intern. Med. Res. 3, suppl. 3 (1975).
Gluckman, M. I. & Baum, T. Psychopharmacologia 15, 169–185 (1969).
Van Riezen, H., Behagel, I. R. H. & Chafik, M. Psychopharmac. Bull. 11, 10–15 (1975).
Greenwood, D. T. J. Intern. Med. Res. 3, suppl. 3, 18–30 (1975).
Jalfre, M. & Haefely, W. in 6-Hydroxydopamine and Catecholamine Neurons (eds Malmfors, T. & Thoenen, H.) 333–346 (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1971).
Schildkraut, J. Am. J. Psychiat. 122, 509–522 (1965).
Helmchen, H. & Hippius, H. Nervenarzt 38, 455–458 (1967).
Prange, A. J. in The Nature and Treatment of Depression (eds Flach, F. F. & Draghi, S. C.) 255–270 (Wiley, New York, 1975).
Van Riezen, H. Arch. Intern. Pharmacodyn. 198, 256–269 (1972).
Kafoe, W. F. & Leonard, B. E. Arch. Intern. Pharmacodyn. 206, 389–391 (1973).
Jalfre, M., Ruch-Monachon, M. A. & Haefely, W. Adv. Biochem. Psychopharmac. 10, 121–134 (1974).
Fleischhauer, J., Al-Shaltchi, B. & Brândli, A. Arzneim. Forsch. 23, 1808–1813 (1973).
Dunnett, C. W. J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 50, 1096–1121 (1955).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
PORSOLT, R., LE PICHON, M. & JALFRE, M. Depression: a new animal model sensitive to antidepressant treatments. Nature 266, 730–732 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/266730a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/266730a0
This article is cited by
-
Treatment with N-acetylcysteine and/or zinc sulfate restores neurobehavioral functions through modulation of neurochemical activities in mice exposed to bonny light crude oil
Nutrire (2024)
-
Transplantation of gut microbiota derived from patients with schizophrenia induces schizophrenia-like behaviors and dysregulated brain transcript response in mice
Schizophrenia (2024)
-
(R)-ketamine restores anterior insular cortex activity and cognitive deficits in social isolation-reared mice
Molecular Psychiatry (2024)
-
Glial-restricted precursors stimulate endogenous cytogenesis and effectively recover emotional deficits in a model of cytogenesis ablation
Molecular Psychiatry (2024)
-
Glycitein prevents reserpine-induced depression and associated comorbidities in mice: modulation of lipid peroxidation and TNF-α levels
Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology (2024)