Mouse

Standard laboratory housing for mice restricts their ability to segregate space into clean and dirty areas

Laboratory mice (Mus musculus) are typically housed in simple cages consisting of one open space. These standard cages may thwart mouse ability to segregate resting areas from areas where they eliminate, a behaviour that is prevalent across the animal kingdom....

Year Published: 2019Topics: Housing, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Makowska, I. J., Franks, B., El-Hinn, C. et al. 2019. Standard laboratory housing for mice restricts their ability to segregate space into clean and dirty areas. Scientific Reports 9, 6179.

A sensitive scoring system for the longitudinal clinical evaluation and prediction of lethal disease outcomes in newborn mice

Neonatal animal models are increasingly employed in order to unravel age-specific disease mechanisms. Appropriate tools objectifying the clinical condition of murine neonates are lacking. In this study, we tested a scoring system specifically designed for newborn mice that relies on...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Fehlhaber, B., Heinemann, A. S., Rübensam, K. et al. 2019. A sensitive scoring system for the longitudinal clinical evaluation and prediction of lethal disease outcomes in newborn mice. Scientific Reports 9, 5919.

Evaluating analgesic efficacy and administration route following craniotomy in mice using the grimace scale

Most research laboratories abide by guidelines and mandates set by their research institution regarding the administration of analgesics to control pain during the postoperative period. Unfortunately, measuring pain originating from the head is difficult, making adequate decisions regarding pain control...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Analgesia, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Cho, C., Michalidis, V., Lecker, I. et al. 2019. Evaluating analgesic efficacy and administration route following craniotomy in mice using the grimace scale. Scientific Reports 9, 359.

Opportunities for improving animal welfare in rodent models of epilepsy and seizures

Animal models of epilepsy and seizures, mostly involving mice and rats, are used to understand the pathophysiology of the different forms of epilepsy and their comorbidities, to identify biomarkers, and to discover new antiepileptic drugs and treatments for comorbidities. Such...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Lidster, K., Jefferys, J. G., Blümcke, I. et al. 2016. Opportunities for improving animal welfare in rodent models of epilepsy and seizures. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 260, 2-25.

Non-invasive 3D time-of-flight imaging technique for tumour volume assessment in subcutaneous models

Subcutaneous tumour xenograft volumes are generally measured using callipers. This method is susceptible to inter- and intra-observer variability and systematic inaccuracies. Non-invasive 3D measurement using ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been considered, but require immobilization of the animal....

Year Published: 2015Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Delgado San Martin, J. A., Worthington, P., Yates, J. W. T. 2015. Non-invasive 3D time-of-flight imaging technique for tumour volume assessment in subcutaneous models. Laboratory Animals 49(2), 168-171.

Evaluation of the effects of space allowance on measures of animal welfare in laboratory mice

We studied how space allowance affects measures of animal welfare in mice by systematically varying group size and cage type across three levels each in both males and females of two strains of mice (C57BL/6ByJ and BALB/cByJ; n = 216...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Housing, Social Housing & Companionship, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Bailoo, J. D., Murphy, E., Varholick, J. A. et al. 2018. Evaluation of the effects of space allowance on measures of animal welfare in laboratory mice. Scientific Reports 8, 713.

Effect of light colour temperature and intensity on the behaviour of male C57CL/6J mice

Light is an important environmental factor affecting laboratory animals' well-being but still there is a range of light parameters in animal research facilities that need further study. Behavioural testing was conducted to study the impact of different conditions of light...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Kapogiannatou, A., Paronis, E., Paschidis, K. et al. 2016. Effect of light colour temperature and intensity on the behaviour of male C57CL/6J mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 135-140.

He’s getting under my skin! Comparing the sensitivity and specificity of dermal vs subcuticular lesions as a measure of aggression in mice

Aggression is the leading cause of death in young laboratory mice, representing a major welfare issue. Many of the experimental measures used in traditional aggression research, especially those focusing on territorial aggression (e.g., resident/intruder) are poorly suited to examining dominance...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gaskill, B. N., Stottler, A., Pritchett-Corning, K. R. et al. 2016. He's getting under my skin! Comparing the sensitivity and specificity of dermal vs subcuticular lesions as a measure of aggression in mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 183, 77-85.

Personality predicts the responses to environmental enrichment at the group but not within-groups in stereotypic African striped mice, Rhabdomys dilectus

Environmental enrichment is used to enhance the well-being of captive animals and to prevent or reduce stereotypic and other abnormal behaviours. However, environmental enrichment does not always succeed in its intended purpose. We investigated whether personality (i.e. consistent individual variation...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Joshi, S., Pillay, N. 2016. Personality predicts the responses to environmental enrichment at the group but not within-groups in stereotypic African striped mice, Rhabdomys dilectus. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 44-52.

Mice aversion to sevoflurane, isoflurane and carbon dioxide using an approach-avoidance task

Euthanasia of laboratory animals is one of the main concerns for animal welfare, especially the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) which has been described to induce aversive-like behaviours. In order to refine mass euthanasia in rodents, this study aims to...

Year Published: 2017Topics: EuthanasiaAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Guedes, S. R., Valentim, A. M., Antunes, L. M. 2017. Mice aversion to sevoflurane, isoflurane and carbon dioxide using an approach-avoidance task. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 189, 91-97.