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Abstract
Rats when forced to swim in a cylinder from which they cannot escape will, after an
initial period of vigorous activity, adopt a characteristic immobile posture which
can be readily identified. Immobility was reduced by various clinically effective
antidepressant drugs at doses which otherwise decreased spontaneous motor activity
in an open field. Antidepressants could thus be distinguished from psychostimulants
which decreased immobility at doses which increased general activity. Anxiolytic compounds
did not affect immobility whereas major tranquilisers enhanced it. Immobility was
also reduced by electroconvulsive shock, REM sleep deprivation and "enrichment" of
the environment. It was concluded that immobility reflects a state of lowered mood
in the rat which is selectively sensitive to antidepressant treatments. Positive findings
with atypical antidepressant drugs such as iprindole and mianserin suggest that the
method may be capable of discovering new antidepressants hitherto undetectable with
classical pharmacological tests.