Experiments/Tail Suspension Test

Source Paper

Age-related changes in behavior in C57BL/6J mice from young adulthood to middle age

Hirotaka Shoji, Keizo Takao, Satoko Hattori, Tsuyoshi Miyakawa

Molecular Brain • 2016

DOI PMC

Tail Suspension Test

behavioralmouseC57BL/6J and genetically engineered mice with C57BL/6J genetic background

Objective: Measurement of depression-like behavior through immobility when suspended by the tail

This is a Tail Suspension Test protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 5 procedural steps, 1 equipment items, 4 materials. Extracted from a 2016 paper published in Molecular Brain.

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Replication Essentials

Model and subjects

mouse • C57BL/6J and genetically engineered mice with C57BL/6J genetic background • male • Not specified • Not specified • 1739

Study window

~1 day study window

Core workflow

Animal housing and maintenance • Behavioral test battery sequence • Tail suspension test

Primary readouts

Immobility duration during tail suspension
Depression-like behavior

Key equipment and reagents

Tail suspension test apparatusPaperClean Bedding

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Protocol Steps

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Animal housing and maintenance

Mice housed in plastic cages with sterilized PaperClean Bedding under 12-hour light/dark cycle with lights on at 7:00 am. Food (CRF-1) and water provided ad libitum.

Not specifiedNot specified

Note: Housing density varied: 1.3% housed with 1 animal per cage, 2.3% with 2, 6.7% with 3, 80.1% with 4, 8.9% with 5, and 0.7% with 6 animals per cage at beginning of test battery

View evidence from paper

“housed in plastic cages with sterilized PaperClean Bedding (Japan SLC) under a 12-hr light/dark cycle (lights on at 7:00 am) with access to food (CRF-1, Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.) and water ad libitum”

Behavioral test battery sequence

Mice subjected to behavioral tests in the following order: general health and neurological screening, light/dark transition, open field, elevated plus maze, hot plate, social interaction, rotarod, startle response/prepulse inhibition, Porsolt forced swim, Barnes maze, contextual and cued fear conditioning, and tail suspension tests.

At least 1 day interval between testsNot specified

Note: More than 75% of mice subjected to tests in accordance with the order; some strains had tests omitted or reordered

View evidence from paper

“The mice were generally tested in the following order; general health and neurological screening, light/dark transition, open field, elevated plus maze, hot plate, social interaction, rotarod, startle response/prepulse inhibition, Porsolt forced swim, Barnes maze, contextual and cued fear conditioning, and tail suspension tests. The interval between tests was at least 1 day.”