Posted by Molybdenum on May 28, 2008, at 4:29:07
In reply to Re: C*A*F*F*E*I*N*E..as an antidepressant?, posted by linkadge on May 27, 2008, at 19:56:35
Well.....I actually got to know some of those mice quite well. You know, the ones who were subjected to the "forced swim test".
What really happened according to Spike [one of the younger mice] was "...we were all just sitting around talking after the espresso shots. Then Larry [not his real name] started twitching & fell in the water. His partner for the entire week [Honey - her real name], then jumped in after him. We all thought it was a great idea & so we all jumped in and started splashing around. Larry was always jerking & doing stuff like that. We used to call him 'Modafinil Man' on account of another job we did. We didn't think anything was wrong and Honey never stopped talking the whole time either."
According to my source, up until then none of the mice were actually depressed. Only after they realised that Larry couldn't swim, and subsequently sank to the bottom of the tank, did any of them report feelings of sadness or melancholia.
Researchers felt the experiment was invalid then, especially after half the mice claimed to be suffering from PTSD - on account of Larry (& then Honey). Apparently Honey was "beside herself" and impossible to console and in the midst of such grief, climbed up the side of the espresso machine & into the coffee holder. She'd pushed the "double latte" button before anyone could stop her. She screamed with pain as the steam came down "I'm coming Larry, I'm coming for you baby...!".
poster:Molybdenum
thread:831456
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080528/msgs/831563.html