Neurobehavioral studies of forced swimming: the role of learning and memory in the forced swim test

Abstract

1. Immobility in the forced swim test ("behavioral despair test") has often been regarded as an animal model of despair or depression. 2. Behavioral studies of forced swimming ("behavioral despair") are reviewed and compared with certain behavioral effects of exposure to inescapable shock (i.e., "learned helplessness"). 3. Exposure to inescapable shock clearly impairs subsequent coping responses. However, detailed behavioral studies of forced swimming indicate that immobility during forced swimming is not a failure of coping but instead reflects a relatively successful coping strategy that employs energy conserving behaviors. 4. Certain neurobiological studies of forced swimming are reinterpreted in light of the behavioral evidence that immobility during forced swimming reflects effects of learning and memory rather than effects of despair or depression. 5. Some implications for future neurobehavioral studies of forced swimming and uncontrollable shock are discussed.