Behavioural despair test

Animal testing

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The behavioural despair test (or Porsolt forced swimming test) is a test, centered on a rodent's response to the threat of drowning, whose result has been interpreted as measuring susceptibility to negative mood. It is commonly used to measure the effectiveness of antidepressants,^[1] although significant criticisms of its interpretation have been made.^[2]

^ Petit-Demouliere, B; Chenu, F; Bourin, M (January 2005). "Forced swimming test in mice: a review of antidepressant activity". Psychopharmacology. 177 (3): 245–55. doi:10.1007/s00213-004-2048-7. PMID 15609067. S2CID 1222576.
^ Borsini, Franco; Volterra, Giovanna; Meli, Alberto (1986). "Does the behavioral "despair" test measure "despair"?". Physiology & Behavior. 38 (3): 385–386. doi:10.1016/0031-9384(86)90110-1. PMID 3786519. S2CID 22261285.