Forced Swim Test
Objective: Behavioral test of depression in which immobility time is measured to assess antidepressant-like effects of VGF
This is a Forced Swim Test protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 3 procedural steps, 1 equipment items. Extracted from a 2007 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
mouse • Not specified • unknown • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
~6 day study window
Core workflow
Forced Swim Test baseline measurement • VGF infusion into hippocampus • Measure immobility time
Primary readouts
- Time spent immobile during forced swim test
- Antidepressant-like behavioral effects
Key equipment and reagents
Verified items
0
Direct vendor links
0
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
Confirm first
- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
- Check that every direct vendor link matches the exact specification your lab plans to run.
Use the page like this
- Work through the protocol steps in order and use the inline vendor chips only when you need to source or verify an item.
- Jump to Experimental Context for readouts, data shape, and analysis flow before planning downstream analysis.
Protocol Steps
Start here. The step list is optimized for running the experiment, with direct vendor links available inline when you need to source a cited item.
Forced Swim Test baseline measurement
Mice are subjected to the forced swim test paradigm to establish baseline VGF expression and depression-like behavior
Note: VGF was downregulated in the hippocampus after forced swim test paradigm
View evidence from paper
“VGF was downregulated in the hippocampus after both the learned helplessness and forced swim test (FST) paradigms”
VGF infusion into hippocampus
VGF is infused directly into the hippocampus of mice that have been subjected to forced swim test
Note: Infusion is performed post-FST exposure
View evidence from paper
“VGF infusion in the hippocampus of mice subjected to FST reduced the time spent immobile for up to 6 d”
Measure immobility time
Quantify the time spent immobile by mice during forced swim test following VGF infusion
Note: Immobility time is the primary outcome measure for antidepressant-like effects
View evidence from paper
“VGF infusion in the hippocampus of mice subjected to FST reduced the time spent immobile for up to 6 d”