Our Forced Swim and Tail Suspension assays were developed specifically to support depression research. These remain two of our most widely used tools in this field.

What is especially exciting is that researchers are also using our other products, including the Open Field, Elevated Plus Maze, and Zero Maze assays, to study depression in new and creative ways. These assays, traditionally applied to other behavioral domains, are proving to be valuable additional tools for depression research.

To better understand this trend, we reviewed PubMed for publications referencing our assays alongside behavioral research terms such as “anxiety” and “depression.” We found 3,109 articles referencing Forced Swim; of these, 2,097 (67.45%) also mentioned depression. Similarly, there were 1,987 articles for Tail Suspension, with 1,130 (56.87%) including depression. These results confirm the central role of the Tail Suspension and Forced Swim assays in antidepressant drug discovery.

At the same time, we were encouraged to see evidence that other assays we manufacture are also being applied to depression studies. This suggests there may be valuable opportunities for you and your colleagues to incorporate these additional depression research products into your own work.

 

If you would like a list of references highlighting these creative applications, please contact us and we will be glad to share them.