Mouse
Depression
So,
what does depression look like in a mouse? If you have any ideas
on how to diagnose mouse depression, some researchers might find
it very helpful.
There
was a recent study that may tie mice and acne
medication to depression in humans. In the study, researchers
observed one group of adolescent mice with the drug 13-cis-Retinoic
Acid (Accutane) in their system versus another sample group with
a control substance. Would the mice act differently?
Of
course you can’t exactly diagnose mice with depression by
asking them how they feel, so the researches took careful notice
of each sample groups behavior. They figured that depressed mice
would have higher levels of anxiety, perhaps spend more time immobile
or hidden from open areas. So the two sample groups were given
an open-field test—a controlled environment with equal amounts
of open areas and hidden corners where they could be observed.
Maybe all the mice were feeling a bit anti-social because that
specific test didn’t reveal any significant difference in
their behavior.
The
researchers switched gears and tried to place each mouse in a
highly stressful situation as another test of their anxiety levels.
These situations included some mice being suspended by their tails
for several minutes and other mice being forced to swim in a water
tank. Both groups responded similarly, that is, I assume, that
they didn’t particularly enjoy it.
So,
on to another one. In the last test the mice were placed on a
rotating rod to gauge balancing skills. There was an obvious difference
between the mice with the acne drug Accutane. Believe it or not,
the sample group with the drug had better balance than the sample
group without. What does that tell you? Who knows? But, it did
prove that the drug does have an affect on the brain as well as
the skin.
For
the researchers the series of tests brings up a whole lot of questions
about the drug and whether it has an effect on humans. Sounds
like nothing very conclusive came out of the tests, other than
more incentive to keep testing.
