701-9 Test 3028. 2017-12-15. 16:22.
Click. swing. Light up. Foodbody? Grabbody. Grabbody smell.
Grab grab. Grab grab go. Up up. Smell loud. Body loud. Away away. Over. Grab grab. Down. Ear loud. Down.
Splash splash. Grab go. Grabbody smell. Swim swim. Swim swim. Light loud. Sound sound. Swim swim. Whir.
No panic no panic. Swim swim. Foot good. See shape. Go shape. Same same. Swim swim.
No panic no panic. Swim swim. Feet ok. Belly ok. Heat ok. Ok ok.
Otherbody? No otherbody. See see. Grabbody up. Up up. Spin around. No. Swim swim.
Foot scrape. Up up? No foot. Swim swim. Foot scrape. Up? No. Swim swim.
Foot ok. Belly ok. Heat ok. No panic.
Foot scrape. Swim swim. Round. Grabbody smell. Grabbody go. Swim swim.
Round swim. Foot scrape swim. Swim swim. Grabbody swim. Heat ok. Swim swim.
Foot scrape. No foot. Swim swim. No foot. Swim foot. Heat ok. Swim foot.
Swim swim. Round swim. Grabbody see. Away swim. Away away.
Belly ok. Heat no. Up up. Foot scrape. Foot loud. Foot stop? Swim swim.
Foot stop? Swim swim. Foot scrape. No foot. Loud loud. Away away.
Swim swim. No foot. Loud foot. See shape. Same same. Go go. Swim swim.
Swim foot. Loud loud. Swim swim. Loud loud. Swim. Belly loud. Swim swim.
Foot loud. Swim. Belly loud . Swim. No otherbody. Swim. No otherbody smell loud. Swim swim.
Why no foot? Swim. Foot loud. Heat loud. Loud loud. Stop stop? Swim swim.
Foot swim loud swim. Foot swim loud swim. Scrape swim loud swim foot swim swim loud swim see swim loud loud.
No otherbody swim why? Swim loud swim belly swim scrape swim scrape swim scrape swim foot loud swim belly swim loud swim loud loud swim stop stop? Loud loud loud.
Stop swim? stop swim? same same swim no otherbody swim no swim no swim why swim Grabbody smell swim why no otherbody swim no smell swim no smell loud.
Swim no smell no otherbody smell foot lost belly loud foot loud no otherbody smell loud no smell loud stop stop swim swim stop swim.
Stop swim stop swim stop stop swim stop swim stop swim swim.
No otherbody smell stop no why swim stop swim stop stop swim stop.
swim stop stop swim stop swim swim stop stop swim stop stop swim stop swim stop stop swim swim swim stop swim stop stop stop stop swim stop stop swim.
No otherbody stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop.
Foot stop scrape stop belly stop no otherbody smell stop grabbody stop see stop swim stop grab stop smell stop away stop.
stop stopstop.
stop.
701-14 Test 3029. 2017-12-15. 16:46.
Click loud. Foodbody foodbody. Grab grab Grabbody. Smell loud. Up up. Grab grab. Smell loud. Down.
Grab grab stop. See grabbody. Food? Food smell. Gobble gobble. Smell smell. New smell. Food smell grabbody smell new smell. No panic. New smell.
Grab grab. Up up. Grabbody smell. Foodbody smell. Down.
Splash splash. Swim swim. Grab gone. Ear loud. Air loud. Up up.
Swim swim. No panic. Swim swim. Up up.
Heat ok. Body ok. Ok ok. Ok ok. Foot ok. Ok ok. Swim foot. Belly ok. New smell.
Swim swim. Light. New smell. Swim swim. Foot swim. See shape. Swim shape. Grabbody foodbody.
Foot scrape. no foot. Swim swim. Foot scrape. No foot. Swim swim. Foot scrape. No foot. Swim swim. Round swim.
No foot. Foot swim. No smell. New smell. No foot. Swim swim. Ear loud.
See shape foot scrape no foot foot scrape round round no smell new smell.
No panic ok ok. Foot ok. Belly ok. No panic see shape. No smell no panic new smell.
See grabbody.. Foodbody. Swim swim. Swim first. No foot. Scrape scrape. Ear loud.
ROund round. Swim swim. grabbody. No grabbody. Grabbody. No grabbody., Scrape swim scrape swim.
Swim swim. No panic. Heat ok. Foot ok. Air ok. Heat ok. Air ok. Belly ok. Swim swim.
Light loud. New smell. Grabbody gone. See shape. Same same. Swim swim.
See shape. Swim swim. Grabbody. New smell. Round round. Foodbody? grabbody. Swim swim.
Swim shape. Round scrape swim loud ear loud swim shape round scrape swim swim.
Light loud ear loud no panic ok ok.
Air ok. Belly ok. Heat ok. See shape. New smell.
Swim swim. Round swim. New smell swim. Foot ok swim. No foot swim.
No foot swim. Air up swim. Swim first swim. Ok ok swim.
Swim swim. Scrape swim. Round swim. See swim. Ear loud swim. Belly ok swim.
Round swim. Ear loud swim. Light swim. Food swim? No food swim. Swim first swim.
New smell swim. Grabbody away swim. Grabbody food swim? Foodbody grab swim?
Light loud swim. No foot swim. No foot no foot swim. Swim swim.
Swim. Ear loud new smell swim.
No food swim. Belly ok swim. Air ok swim. Swim swim swim.
No panic swim. Foot scrape no foot round round swim.
Grabbody swim No grabbody swim. Foot scrape no foot swim.
No panic swim. New smell old smell swim.
Old smell swim. Ear loud old smell swim.
Light round scrape old smell air up swim.
No scrape swim scrape swim. scrape.
Air up swim. Foot loud swim.
Foot loud. Swim swim.
Oldmsell swim. Foot loud swim.
Swim swim. No panic swim.
Earloud nofood Grabbody gone oldsmell swim.
Swim smell oldsmell swim. Foot loud swim. Belly ok swim.
Body ok swim. Foot loud swim. No panic swim.
Foot scrape round scrape round swim.
Grabbody gone foot scrape no foot body loud foot loud ear loud swim.
Swim swim.
Foot loud.
Swim swim.
No foot.
Swim swim.
Oldsmell footloud no foot earloud.
Swim swim.
Round swim.
Air loud. Swim.
Foot loud air loud.
Swim swim.
Air loud foot loud body loud heat loud swim swim swim.
Swim swim swim.
Swim.
Round foot Grabbody foodgone no panic swim food loud air loud ear foot swim loud oldsmell new smell.
Swim swim.
Swim loud.
Loud loud.
Swim swim.
Loud loud.
Foor loud airloud swim.
Swim swim.
Stop?
Stop.
************************************************************************
“Remarkable.”
Avril plucked the soggy limp mouse from the clear plexiglass cylinder.
“Just remarkable.”
Denis turned from the computer on the other workstation.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“This new one. The Impco batch. The 621. 3 micrograms. 12 minutes.”
He spun his chair to face Avril.
“12 minutes. Really? Did you do a marker test”
“6 minutes.”
“Wow. That’s great. That’s the first jump from the new batch.”
“Yeah, I was losing my mind running all of these.”
“Has to be done. Where the funding goes, we follow.”
“Yeah but what they call experimental, I call random. But this 621 one. Different level.”
“12 minutes is great.”
“Finally, yeah it’s… oh”
“Oh?” Denis pushed his office chair so that it rolled across the lab.
“I think it’s dead.”
“Oh.”
“That’s a pity.”
“Yeah…. But 12 minutes. Try it again?”
“Of course. Can you grab me another?”
“Sure. Which ones are ready?”
“Any of the 701 ones. Just let me mark this up”
Avril carried 701-14 as its soft fur dried in the warmth within the grip of her gloves. She carefully wrapped its tiny limp body in a sheet of light tissue, then put it into a sealable plastic bag, and walked down to end of the lab to leave it in the disposal freezer.
THE END
The forced Mouse Swim Test, or Behavioural Despair test, is a test used for some drugs such as antidepressants. A rodent, normally a mouse, is forced to swim in a cylinder from which it cannot escape. The time that the mouse spends not trying to get out, and just keeps its head above water, is the key metric. At this stage, the mouse has given up trying to get out. It doesn't drown, not normally anyhow, as because mice are so small and light, and given their shape and the air in their lungs, they can basically float - at least in a lab environment.
You can watch, if you like, a swim test example on the youtub here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s3o5UFThyo
I wanted to try imagine what a mouse's mental experience might feel like, during the test, transposed into more human language.
Then I wanted to jump out to the lab, and a team of scientists running tests ad infinitum, with a parallel to what the mice go through, maybe.
