Rat

Provision of food and water in rodent whole body plethysmography safety pharmacology respiratory studies – Impact on animal welfare and data quality

Introduction: We evaluated the feasibility of providing food and water to rodents during whole body plethysmography (WBP) studies as a welfare improvement to standard conditions. Methods: Male Han Wistar rats or CD1 mice (n=8) were placed in WBP chambers and...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Grant, C., Marks, L., Prior, H. 2017. Provision of food and water in rodent whole body plethysmography safety pharmacology respiratory studies – Impact on animal welfare and data quality. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 88(Part 1), 79-84.

Reducing suffering in animal models and procedures involving seizures, convulsions and epilepsy

This report is based on discussions and submissions from an expert working group consisting of veterinarians, animal care staff and scientists with expert knowledge relevant to the field and aims to facilitate the implementation of the Three Rs (replacement, reduction...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Wolfensohn, S., Hawkins, P., Lilley, E. et al. 2013. Reducing suffering in animal models and procedures involving seizures, convulsions and epilepsy. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 67(1), 9-15.

Reducing suffering in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)

This report is based on discussions and submissions from an expert working group consisting of veterinarians, animal care staff and scientists with expert knowledge relevant to the field. It aims to facilitate the implementation of the Three Rs (replacement, reduction...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Dog, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Macaque, Marmoset, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent, Sheep

Citation: Wolfensohn, S., Hawkins, P., Lilley, E. et al. 2013. Reducing suffering in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 67(3), 169-176.

The 9 to 5 Rodent − Time for Change? Scientific and animal welfare implications of circadian and light effects on laboratory mice and rats

Rodents, particularly rats and mice, are the most commonly used laboratory animals and are extensively used in neuroscience research, including as translational models for human disorders. It is common practice to carry out scientific procedures on rats and mice during...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hawkins, P., Golledge, H. D. R. 2018. The 9 to 5 Rodent − Time for Change? Scientific and animal welfare implications of circadian and light effects on laboratory mice and rats. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 300, 20-25.

Social-housing and use of double-decker cages in rat telemetry studies

Rat telemetry is widely used for biomedical research purposes and is used routinely in early pre-clinical drug development to screen for the potential cardiovascular risk of candidate drugs. Historically, these studies have been conducted in individually housed conditions which can...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, External Bodily Equipment, Housing, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Skinner, M., Ceuppens, P., White, P. et al. 2019. Social-housing and use of double-decker cages in rat telemetry studies. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 96, 87-94.

Applying refinement to the use of mice and rats in rheumatoid arthritis research

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a painful, chronic disorder and there is currently an unmet need for effective therapies that will benefit a wide range of patients. The research and development process for therapies and treatments currently involves in vivo studies,...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hawkins, P., Armstrong, R., Boden, T. et al. 2015. Applying refinement to the use of mice and rats in rheumatoid arthritis research. Inflammopharmacology 23, 131–150.

Distinct profiles of 50 kHz vocalizations differentiate between social versus non-social reward approach and consumption

Social animals tend to possess an elaborate vocal communication repertoire, and rats are no exception. Rats utilize ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) to communicate information about a wide range of socially relevant cues, as well as information regarding the valence of the...

Year Published: 2021Topics: VocalizationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Seidisarouei, M., van Gurp, S., Pranic, N. M. et al. 2021. Distinct profiles of 50 kHz vocalizations differentiate between social versus non-social reward approach and consumption. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 15, 693698.

A sensitive homecage-based novel object recognition task for rodents

The recognition of novel objects is a common cognitive test for rodents, but current paradigms have limitations, such as low sensitivity, possible odor confounds and stress due to being performed outside of the homecage. We have developed a paradigm that...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Behavioral & Cognitive TestingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Wooden, J. I., Spinetta, M. J., Nguyen, T. et al. 2021. A sensitive homecage-based novel object recognition task for rodents. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 15, 680042.

Crying with laughter: Adapting the tickling protocol to address individual differences among rats in their response to playful handling

In this Opinion paper, we consider whether current methods of tickling overemphasize the use of pinning (Figure 1) to which there may be a wider response variation than commonly acknowledged. We do not dispute that tickling can be a positive...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Handling, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Bombail, V., Brown, S. M., Hammond, T. J. et al. 2021. Crying with laughter: Adapting the tickling protocol to address individual differences among rats in their response to playful handling. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 677872.

A good life for laboratory rodents?

Most would agree that animals in research should be spared “unnecessary” harm, pain, or distress, and there is also growing interest in providing animals with some form of environmental enrichment. But is this the standard of care that we should...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural Behavior, RestraintAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Makowska, I. J., Weary, D. M. 2019. A good life for laboratory rodents? ILAR Journal 60(3), 373-388.