Table 1.
Results of behavioral tests to measure different aspects of depression conducted in females.
| Test | Reference | Animal | Depression Model | Results of female models | Sex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Despair Behavior | |||||
| FST | (Dion-Albert et al., 2022) | C57BL/6 | CLDN5 KD | Higher immobility | M |
| (Jones & Lucki, 2005) | 129sv Background | 5-HT1b KO | Female 5-HT1b KO showed a decrease of immobility M/F | M/F | |
| (Leussis & Andersen, 2008) | Sprague Dawley | Social Isolation | Higher immobility | M/F | |
| (Marco et al., 2017) | Wistar Han | CMS | Higher immobility | M/F | |
| (Zhu et al., 2014) | C57BL/6 | CMS | Higher immobility | F | |
| (Johnson, Rainville, Rivero-Ballon, Dhimitri, & Hodes, 2021) | C57BL/6 | SCVS | Female stress showed decreased latency to immobility | F | |
| TST | (Jones & Lucki, 2005) | 129sv Background | 5-HT1b KO | Female 5-HT1b KO showed a decrease of immobility | M/F |
| (Leussis & Andersen, 2008) | Sprague Dawley | Social Isolation | Increased immobility bout number | M/F | |
| (Iniguez et al., 2018) | C57BL/6 | Vicarious Defeat Stress | Increased immobility | F | |
| Anhedonic Behavior | |||||
| SIT (Sucrose Intake Test) | (Dalla et al., 2005) | Wistar rats | CMS | Females show less decrease of sucrose intake | M/F |
| SPT | (Dion-Albert et al., 2022) | C57BL/6 | SCVS | Decreased sucrose preference | F |
| (Dion-Albert et al., 2022) | C57BL/6 | CLDN5 KD | Decreased sucrose preference | F | |
| (Karisetty, Joshi, Kumar, & Chakravarty, 2017) | C57BL/6 | CVMS | Decreased sucrose preference | M/F | |
| (Zhu et al., 2014) | C57BL/6 | CMS | Lower sucrose consumption | F | |
| (Hodes et al., 2015) | C57BL/6 | SCVS | Decreased sucrose preference in females only | M/F | |
| (Williams et al., 2020) | C57BL/6 | SCVS | Decreased sucrose preference in females only | M/F | |
| Anxiety-Like Behavior | |||||
| OFT | (Dalla et al., 2005) | Wistar rats | CMS | M/F | |
| (Zhu et al., 2014) | C57BL/6 | CMS | Less time in center | F | |
| (Nowacka-Chmielewska, Kasprowska-Liskiewicz, Barski, Obuchowicz, & Malecki, 2017) | Sprague Dawley | SIS | Less rearing time | F | |
| (Dao et al., 2010) | C57BL/6 | CACNA1C haploinsufficiency +/- | Less time in the center | M/F | |
| EPM | (Dion-Albert et al., 2022) | C57BL/6 | CLDN5 KD | Less time in open arms | F |
| (Dion-Albert et al., 2022) | C57BL/6 | SCVS | More time in closed arms | F | |
| (Zhu et al., 2014) | C57BL/6 | CMS | Less time in open arms | F | |
| (Grippo, Wu, Hassan, & Carter, 2008) | Prairie vole | Social Isolation | Less time in open arms | F | |
| (Dao et al., 2010) | C57BL/6 | CACNA1C haploinsufficiency +/- | Less time in open-arm | M/F | |
| NSF | (Zhu et al., 2014) | C57BL/6 | CMS | Longer latency to eat | F |
| (Johnson et al., 2021) | C57BL/6 | SCVS | Longer latency to eat (males also) | M/F | |
| (Hodes et al., 2015) | C57BL/6 | SCVS | Longer latency to eat | M/F | |
| (Goodwill et al., 2019) | C57BL/6N | Early Life Stress | Longer latency to eat (adult) | M/F | |
| Social Behavior | |||||
| Social interaction | (Haller, Baranyi, Bakos, & Halasz, 2004) | Wistar rats | SIS | Less social investigation, more agonistic behaviors | F |
| (Baranyi, Bakos, & Haller, 2005) | Wistar Han | SIS | Higher agonistic interaction | F | |
To test the validity of the depression model or the therapeutic effects of potential drugs, various behavioral tests are exploited in animal models. Based on the innate, characteristic behaviors of rodents, several tests were designed. FST, and TST are used to measure the despair behavior of rodent models. Upon forced swimming or tail suspension, the immobility of rodents is measured and considered as a level of helplessness. Depressed animals show higher immobility. Another symptom of depression is anhedonia, which is defined as the inability to experience pleasure (Sternat & Katzman, 2016). SPT is used to measure anhedonia exploiting the rodent’s innate preference to sweets (Der-Avakian & Markou, 2012; Liu et al., 2018). OFT and EPM are for testing anxiety since rodents tend to avoid open spaces (Kraeuter, Guest, & Sarnyai, 2019; Knight et al., 2021). NSF is another measurement of anxiety, based on the conflicting situation of rodents’ motivation for eating after food restriction versus fear of novelty. Depressed animals often show higher anxiety. This table summarizes the results of these behavioral tests performed in female rodent models of depression.