The light-dark forced swim test for simultaneous assessment of behavioral 'despair' and anxiety-like behavior in female mice.

Animal models are a valuable tool to study anxiety and depression, two common and severely debilitating brain disorders. Probing them experimentally typically relies on various rodent behavioral assays, such as the light-dark and the forced swim tests. However, the growing importance of testing novel CNS concepts and neuroactive drugs calls for further refinement of existing behavioral tests, as well as the development of new assays.