by dTal on 12/15/19, 10:03 PM
They don't appear to have run a control with caffeine alone. Caffeine is a well-established athletic performance-enhancing drug in its own right. Isn't this a serious flaw with the swim-test portion of this study?
by temporaryvector on 12/15/19, 9:17 PM
I was under the impression that this is a pretty known effect. I used to take anti-depressants along with CNS stimulants and this definitely was something that my psychiatrist and my other doctors mentioned to me and considered when choosing an appropriate dosage.
by youeseh on 12/16/19, 6:38 AM
I hope one day the mice will finally thank us for all the hard work we've done in improving their quality of life.
by frereubu on 12/15/19, 8:56 PM
Full title gives a bit more context: "Caffeine enhances the antidepressant-like activity of common antidepressant drugs in the forced swim test in mice."
by seibelj on 12/15/19, 9:25 PM
My perfect day is 8 hours of caffeine, an hour at the gym, 4 hours of alcohol, SSRI for a nightcap. YMMV
by newnewpdro on 12/16/19, 1:08 AM
TIL "forced swim test", right up there with "rapid unscheduled disassembly".
by dan-robertson on 12/15/19, 11:03 PM
The methodology here is typical for testing antidepressants with animals but many people find it somewhat horrifying:
First the mice are made to be depressed by exposing them to constant sounds of birds screeching and other predators. Next some are given the intervention. The level of depression is then measured by putting the mice in a container of deep water from which there is no escape, and timing how long until the mouse gives up swimming. The mice are not left to drown but are fished out and killed in a presumably more-humane way (chronically depressed mice are not otherwise useful).
A second ethical issue with studies with mice is that occasionally the unfortunate phd student tasked with dispatching the mice will not have been taught any way to do so and will have to try to come up with something on the spot. This can be quite traumatic for both parties.
by LatteLazy on 12/15/19, 11:19 PM
We have so little understanding of basically anything about the brain or mental health issues, it's the next big frontier in medicine.
by tgb29 on 12/16/19, 2:34 AM
Studies have shown that caffeine in moderation encourages learning.