Skip to main content

Separation-Induced Depression in the Mouse

  • Protocol
  • First Online:
Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 63))

  • 1701 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter outlines the experimental methods for inducing Depression-like behavior in mice by separating group-housed mice to individual housing. This is a model of loneliness in mice. Loneliness-induced depression is measured using the forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST). The first part of the chapter describes the methods for inducing separation-induced depression. It summarizes the experimental protocols including behavioral testing of the animals. The second part describes some of the issues to be concerned within this paradigm. An up-to-date collection of protocols and procedures for troubleshooting are provided.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Protocol
USD 49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Cacioppo JT, Hawkley LC, Thirsted RA (2010) Perceived social isolation makes me sad: 5-Year cross-lagged analyses of loneliness and depressive symptomatology in the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations study. Psychol Aging 25:453–463

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Cacioppo JT, Hughes ME, Waite LJ et al (2006) Loneliness as a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Psychol Aging 21:140–151

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Hawkley LC, Burleson MH, Berntson GG, Cacioppo JT (2003) Loneliness in everyday life: Cardiovascular activity, psychosocial context, and health behaviors. J Pers Soc Psychol 85:105–120

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Cacioppo JT, Hawkley LC, Crawford LE, et al (2002) Loneliness and health: Potential mechanisms. Psychosom Med 64:407–417

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Luppino FS, de Wit LM, Bouvy PF, et al (2010) Overweight, obesity and depression. A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Arch Gen Psychiatry 67:220–229

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Stunkard AJ, Faith MS, Allison KC (2003) Depression and obesity. Biol Psychiatry 54: 330–337

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Hawkley LC, Cacioppo JT (2003) Loneliness and pathways to disease. Brain Behav Immun 17:S98–S105

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Wilson RS, Krueger KR, Arnold SE, et al (2007) Loneliness and risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Arch Gen Psychiatry 64:234–240

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Eisenberger NI, Lieberman MD, Williams, KD (2003) Does rejection hurt? An fMRI study of social exclusion. Science 302:290–292

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Eisenberger NI, Taylor SE, Gable SL et al (2007) Neural pathways link social support to attenuated neuroendocrine stress responses. NeuroImage 35:1601–1612

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Panskepp J (2003) Feeling the pain of social loss. Science 302:237–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Martin AL, Brown RE (2010) The lonely mouse: Verification of a separation-induced model of depression in female mice. Behav Brain Res 207:196–207

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Belmaker RH, Agam G (2008) Major depressive disorder. N Engl J Med 358:55–68

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Anisman H, Matheson K (2005) Stress, depression, and anhedonia: caveats concerning animal models. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 29:525–546

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Markou A, Chiamulera C, Geyer MA, et al (2009) Removing obstacles in neuroscience drug discovery: The future path for animal models. Neuropsychopharmacology 34:74–89

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Nestler EJ, Barrot M, DiLeone RJ, et al (2002) Neurobiology of depression. Neuron 34:13–25

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Palanza P (2001) Animal models of anxiety and depression: how are females different? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 25:219–233

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Young EA, Abelson JL, Cameron OG (2004) Effect of comorbid anxiety disorders on the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis to a social stressor in major depression. Biol Psychiatry 56:113–120

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Patten SB, Wang JL, Williams JVA, et al (2006) Descriptive epidemiology of major depression in Canada. Can J Psychiatry 51:84–90

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Accortt EE, Freeman MP, Allen JJ (2008) Women and major depressive disorder: clinical perspectives on causal pathways. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 17:1583–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Check Hayden E (2010) Sex bias blights drug studies. Nature 464:332–333

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Beery AK, Zucker I (2011) Sex bias in neuroscience and biomedical research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 35:565–572

    Google Scholar 

  23. Fuchs E, Flügge G (2006) Experimental animal models for the simulation of depression and anxiety. Dialogues Clin Neurosci 8:323–33

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Brown RE, Wong AA (2007) The influence of visual ability on learning and memory performance in 13 strains of mice. Learning Mem 14:134–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Porsolt RD, Pichon LE, Jalfre M (1977) Depression: a new animal model sensitive to antidepressant treatments. Nature 266:730–732

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Hascoët M, Bourin M (2009) The forced swimming test in mice: a suitable model to study antidepressants. In: Gould TD (ed) Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice, Neuromethods. Humana Press, New York, p. 85–118

    Google Scholar 

  27. O’Leary OF, Cryan JF (2009). The tail-­suspension test: a model for characterizing antidepressant activity in mice. In: Gould TD (ed) Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice, Neuromethods. Humana Press, New York, p. 119–137

    Google Scholar 

  28. Leuner B, Mendolia-Loffredo S, Shors TJ (2004) Males and females respond differently to controllability and antidepressant treatment. Biol Psychiatry 56:964–970

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Strekalova T, Steinbusch H (2009) Factors of reproducibility of anhedonia induction in a chronic stress depression model in mice. In: Gould TD (ed) Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice, Neuromethods. Humana Press, New York, p. 153–176

    Google Scholar 

  30. Anisman H, Merali M (2009) Learned helplessness in mice. In: Gould TD (ed) Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice, Neuromethods. Humana Press, New York, p. 177–196

    Google Scholar 

  31. Johnson SA, Fournier NM, Kalynchuk LE (2006) Effect of different doses of corticosterone on depression-like behavior and HPA axis responses to a novel stressor. Behav Brain Res 168:280–288

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Cabib S, Puglisi-Allegra S (1996) Stress, depression and the mesolimbic dopamine system. Psychopharmacology 128:331–342

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Müller MB, Keck ME (2001) Genetically engineered mice for studies of stress-related clinical conditions. J Psychiatr Res 36:53–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Vollmayr B, Henn FA (2003) Stress models of depression. Clin Neurosci Res 3: 245–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Willner P (2005) Chronic mild stress (CMS) revisited: Consistency and behavioural-­neurobiological concordance in the effects of CMS. Neuropsychobiology 52:90–110

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Dalla C, Antoniou K, Kokras N, et al (2008) Sex differences in the effects of two stress paradigms on dopaminergic neurotransmission. Physiol Behav 93:595–605

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Mineur YS, Belzung C, Crusio WE (2006) Effects of unpredictable chronic mild stress on anxiety and depression-like behavior in mice. Behav Brain Res 175:43–50

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Blazer DG 2nd, Hybels CF (2005) Origins of depression in later life. Psychol Med 35:1241–52

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Bartolomucci A, Fuchs E, Koolhaas JM, Ohl F (2009) Acute and chronic defeat: stress protocols and behavioural testing. In: Gould TD (ed) Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice, Neuromethods. Humana Press, New York, p. 261–275

    Google Scholar 

  40. Malatynska E, Pinhasov A, Knapp RJ (2009) Reduction of submissive behavior model for antidepressant drug testing in mice. In: Gould TD (ed) Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice, Neuromethods. Humana Press, New York, p. 277–296

    Google Scholar 

  41. Brain P (1975) What does individual housing mean to a mouse? Life Sci 16:187–200

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Koike H, Ibi D, Mizoguchi H, et al (2009) Behavioral abnormality and pharmacologic response in social isolation-reared mice. Behav Brain Res 202:114–21

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Cervo L, Canetta A, Calcagno E, et al (2005) Genotype-dependent activity of tryptophan hydroxylase-2 determines the response to citalopram in a mouse model of depression. Neurobiol Dis 23:8165–8172

    Google Scholar 

  44. Elizalde N, Gil-Bea FJ, Ramirez MJ, et al (2008) Long-lasting behavioral effects and recognition memory deficit induced by chronic mild stress in mice: effect of antidepressant treatment. Psychopharmacology 199:1–14

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Norcross M, Poonam M, Enoch AJ, et al (2008) Effects of adolescent fluoxetine treatment on fear-, anxiety- or stress-related behaviours in C57BL/6J or BALB/cJ mice. Psychopharmacology 200:413–424

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Ripoll N, David DJP, Dailly E, et al (2003) Antidepressant-like effects in various mice strains in the tail suspension test. Behav Brain Res 143:193–200

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Stone EA, Lin Y, Quartermain D (2008) Evaluation of the repeated open-space swim model of depression in the mouse. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 91:190–5

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Bekhet AK, Zauszniewski JA, Nakhla WE (2008) Loneliness: a concept analysis. Nursing Forum 43:207–13

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Heinrich LM, Gullone E (2006) The clinical significance of loneliness: a literature review. Clin Psychol Rev 26:695–718

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Grippo AJ, Cushing BS, Carter S (2007) Depression-like behavior and stressor-induced neuroendocrine activation in female prairie voles exposed to chronic social isolation. Psychoneuroendocrinology 32:966–980

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Cinelli P, Rettich A, Seifert B, et al (2007) Comparative analysis and physiological impact of different tissue biopsy methodologies used for the genotyping of laboratory mice. Lab Anim 41:174–184

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Cryan JF, Valentino RJ, Lucki I (2005) Assessing substrates underlying the behavioral effects of antidepressants using the modified rat forced swimming test. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 29:547–569

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Renard CE, Dailly E, David DJP, et al (2003) Monoamine metabolism changes following the mouse forced swimming test but not the tail suspension test. Fundam Clin Pharmacol 17:449–455

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Roy M, David NK, Danao JV, et al (2005) Genetic inactivation of melanin-concentrating hormone receptor subtype 1 (MCHR1) in mice exerts anxiolytic-like behavioral effects. Neuropsychopharmacology 31:112–120

    Google Scholar 

  55. Costall B, Jones BJ, Kelly ME, et al (1989) Exploration of mice in a black and white test box: Validation as a model of anxiety. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 32:777–785

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Bourin M, Hascoët M (2003) The mouse light/dark box test. Eur J Pharmacol 463:55–65

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Hascoët M, Bourin M (2009) The mouse light-dark box test. In: Gould TD (ed) Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice, Neuro-methods. Humana Press, New York, p. 197–223

    Google Scholar 

  58. Mashoodh R, Wright LD, Hébert K, Perrot-Sinal TS (2008) Investigation of sex differences in behavioural, endocrine, and neural measures following repeated psychological stressor exposure. Behav Brain Res 188: 368–379

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Holick KA, Lee DC, Hen R, Dulawa SC (2008) Behavioral effects of chronic fluoxetine in BALB/cJ mice do not require adult hippocampal neurogenesis or the serotonin 1A receptor. Neuropsyhopharmacology 33:406–417

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Beitia G, Garmendia L, Azpiroz A, et al (2005) Time-dependent behavioral, neurochemical, and immune consequences of repeated experiences of social defeat stress in male mice and the ameliorative effects of fluoxetine. Brain Behav Immun 19:530–539

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. Konkle ATM, Baker SL, Kentner AC, et al (2003) Evaluation of the effects of chronic mild stressors on hedonic and physiological responses: Sex and strain compared. Brain Res 992:227–238

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Van Loo PLP, Van de Weerd HA, Van Zutphen LFM, Baumans V (2004) Preference for social contact versus environmental enrichment in male laboratory mice. Lab Anim 38:178–188

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Olsson IAS, Westlund K (2007) More than numbers matter: The effect of social factors on behaviour and welfare of laboratory rodents and non-human primates. Appl Anim Behav Sci 103:229–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Brenes JC, Fornaguera J (2009) The effect of chronic fluoxetine on social isolation-induced changes on sucrose consumption, immobility behavior, and on serotonin and dopamine function in hippocampus and ventral striatum. Behav Brain Res 198:199–205

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  65. Kercmar J, Büdefeld, Grgurevic N, et al (2011) Adolescent social isolation changes social recognition in adult mice. Behav Brain Res 216:647–651

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Abramov U, Raud S, Kõks J et al (2004) Targeted mutation of CCK2 receptor gene antagonises behavioural changes induced by social isolation in female, but not in male mice. Behav Brain Res 155:1–11

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. Karolewicz B, Paul IA (2001) Group housing of mice increases immobility and antidepressant sensitivity in the forced swim test and tail suspension test. Eur J Pharmacol 415:197–201

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Meziane H, Ouagazzal A-M, Aubert L, et al (2007) Estrous cycle effects on behavior of C57BL/6J and BALB/cByJ female mice: implications for phenotyping strategies. Genes Brain Behav 6:192–200

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. Cryan JF, Page ME, Lucki I (2005) Differential behavioral effects of the antidepressants ­reboxetine, fluoxetine, and moclobemide in a modified forced swim test following chronic treatment. Psychopharmacology 182: 335–344

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Gorwood P (2004) Generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder comorbidity: an example of genetic pleiotropy? Eur Psychiatry 19:27–33

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  71. Rogers RJ, Boullier E, Chatzimichalaki P, et al (2002) Contrasting phenotypes of C57BL/6JO1aHsd, 129S2/SvHsd and 129/SvEv mice in two exploration-based tests of anxiety-related behaviour. Physiol Behav 77:301–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Milner LC, Crabbe JC (2007) Three murine anxiety models: results from multiple inbred strain comparisons. Genes Brain Behav 7:496–505

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by NSERC of Canada.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard E. Brown .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this protocol

Cite this protocol

Brown, R.E., Martin, A.L., Gunn, R.K. (2011). Separation-Induced Depression in the Mouse. In: Gould, T. (eds) Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice. Neuromethods, vol 63. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-313-4_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-313-4_15

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-312-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-313-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics