Induction and Evaluation of Depression in Mice Through Chronic Stress Exposure

To induce depression, expose mice daily to any two of the following seven stressors for 21 consecutive days. Expose mice to food deprivation by emptying the feed of each cage, or water deprivation by removing the water bottle for 24 hours. Expose mice to restrained stress, where the mouse is restrained in a small plastic tub for three hours, or an empty cage with the padding removed. As another option, expose mice to wet and soiled cages by pouring water into each cage and keeping wet for 24 hours.

Expose mice to crowded cages, in which five mice are placed in one cage for 25 hours. For the last option, expose mice to ice cold swimming by forcing each mouse to swim in a clear glass aquarium with ice water for five minutes. Finally, record the coat state and body weight weekly until the end of modeling at day 21, and calculate the total score of the coat's state.