Abstract
BackgroundLearned helplessness has excellent validity as an animal model for depression, but problems in reproducibility limit its use and the high degree of stress involved in the paradigm raises ethical concerns. We therefore aimed to identify which and how many trials of the learned helplessness paradigm are necessary to distinguish between helpless and non-helpless rats.FindingsA trial-by-trial reanalysis of tests from 163 rats with congenital learned helplessness or congenital non-learned helplessness and comparison of 82 rats exposed to inescapable shock with 38 shock-controls revealed that neither the first test trials, when rats showed unspecific hyperlocomotion, nor trials of the last third of the test, when almost all animals responded quickly to the stressor, contributed to sensitivity and specificity of the test. Considering only trials 3–10 improved the classification of helpless and non-helpless rats.ConclusionsThe refined analysis allows abbreviation of the test for learned helplessness from 15 trials to 10 trials thereby reducing pain and stress of the experimental animals without losing statistical power.
Highlights
Learned helplessness has excellent validity as an animal model for depression, but problems in reproducibility limit its use and the high degree of stress involved in the paradigm raises ethical concerns
The model of learned helplessness Originally described by Overmier and Seligman in the sixties [1], the learned helplessness (LH) paradigm has become the most widely studied animal model of depression
The aim of the current study was to reassess the procedure for inescapable shock and LH testing, trying to minimize pain, stress and discomfort experienced by the animals during testing, while at the same time working out a proper test protocol that allows for reliably discriminating between helpless and non-helpless animals
Summary
Learned helplessness has excellent validity as an animal model for depression, but problems in reproducibility limit its use and the high degree of stress involved in the paradigm raises ethical concerns. Conclusions: The refined analysis allows abbreviation of the test for learned helplessness from 15 trials to 10 trials thereby reducing pain and stress of the experimental animals without losing statistical power. How to assess learned helplessness in non-human animals Helpless behavior in the LH paradigm can be assessed and categorized on the basis of either a continuous variable (i.e., the latency to press the lever), or a discrete one (i.e., the number of failures to escape) [1,2,10].
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