The use of rectal probes associated to digital thermometers is one of the most classical procedures used in this context as it represents an easy and accurate way to measure animal body core temperature.

Animal body temperature is a key factor to control in a wide variety of pharmacological and behavioral experiments: surgery, evaluation of pain sensitivity to thermal stimuli, evaluation of blood pressure using the non-invasive method, etc…

Surgery tables are classically used for completing general surgical work on small laboratory animals.

Anesthesia induction is the first step of the anesthesia process when general anesthesia is required in the experiment procedure (pain models, electrophysiology, lesions, stereotaxy etc…).

The forced swimming test is a relatively simplistic and widely used model for testing depression. The forced-swimming paradigm was originally adopted by Porsolt et al. (1978). Naïve rats and mice forced to swim in a transparent cylinder (aversive and confined environment) innately fight to escape the apparatus. Following failed attempts to escape, they become immobile (i.e. float), a behavior generally considered as despair or “depressive-like”. Prior treatment with antidepressants decreases the time spent immobile and increases the latency to reach the first immobility episode.

We provide several different sized transparent cylinders for the forced swimming test. All cylinders are made of Perspex Acrylic.