Robotic mouse specialized in depression for real mice

At Waseda University in Japan, scientists have created a robotic mouse, which is used to "terrorize" mice, causing them to be stressed and depressed for drug research.

Laboratories should have at the hands of depressed mice at various levels to test the most common anti-depressant drug in modern life. Deprived mice caused by mice allow scientists to hopefully find more effective drugs.

The mouse is the same size as the real mouse.

The Mini-Robot, the WR-3, is programmed for three types of behavior: pursuit, continuous attack and real-mouse combat. In the first program the mouse chase the real mouse, but always maintain a certain distance, not attack but only the mouse tired.

With the second program, the mouse continuously attacks the mouse without resting. On the third program, the mouse behaved smartly: it knew, motionless when the mouse was lying still and when the mouse hit it again attacked in 5 seconds.

During the experiment, the experimental mice were divided into two equal groups. Real mice in the 1st group are constantly 'trousers' , while the second group is only attacked when moving.

Experiments have shown that in order to produce mice suffering from chronic depression, a continuous attack should be applied to young mice, while the 'play' mode, which attacks and relaxes, is depressed. Chronic will appear in old mice.

Thanks to that method, scientists have created mice of varying degrees of depression to try and compare the effects of the drug. If the drug is effective, people will test it. Only after repeated testing as evidence of consistent results is it possible to produce and sell the product.

Antidepressants have also been tested in mice that are depressed, but it is difficult to diagnose them. For example, let them swim for a long time, "destroying" their sense of smell or using an electric shock. That way it also created mice that were depressed but did not identify the ' mice ' tested for the drug, which corresponded to humans.