Rat

Interpreting neuroendocrine hormones, corticosterone, and blood glucose to assess the wellbeing of anesthetized rats during euthanasia

Current recommendations for assessing animal wellbeing during euthanasia suggest that measuring neuroendocrine hormones—such as ACTH, noradrenaline, and adrenaline—is preferable to measuring corticosterone and blood glucose because of the sensitivity of neuroendocrine hormones to the acute stress associated with rapid methods...

Year Published: 2018Topics: EuthanasiaAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hickman D. L. 2018. Interpreting neuroendocrine hormones, corticosterone, and blood glucose to assess the wellbeing of anesthetized rats during euthanasia. JAALAS 57(6), 725–728.

Home cage compared with induction chamber for euthanasia of laboratory rats

This study compared behavioral and physiologic changes in Sprague–Dawley and Brown Norway rats that were euthanized by using a 30% volume displacement rate of CO2 in either their home cage or an induction chamber; rats euthanized in the home cage...

Year Published: 2018Topics: EuthanasiaAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hickman D. L. 2018. Home cage compared with induction chamber for euthanasia of laboratory rats. JAALAS 57(6), 729–733.

Behavioural response to the environmental changes of various types in Lister-Hooded male rats

The animal preference for complexity is most clearly demonstrated when the environmental change takes the form of an increase in complexity. Therefore, one of the potential difficulties in interpretation is that the preference for perceptual novelty may be confounded with...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Pisula, W., Modlinska, K., Chrzanowska, A. 2019. Behavioural response to the environmental changes of various types in Lister-Hooded male rats. Scientific Reports 9, 7111.

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.

Carbon dioxide, but not isoflurane, elicits ultrasonic vocalizations in female rats

Gradual filling of a chamber with carbon dioxide is currently listed by the Canadian Council on Animal Care guidelines as a conditionally acceptable method of euthanasia for rats. Behavioural evidence suggests, however, that exposure to carbon dioxide gas is aversive....

Year Published: 2013Topics: EuthanasiaAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Chisholm, J., De Rantere D., Fernandez, N. J. et al. 2013. Carbon dioxide, but not isoflurane, elicits ultrasonic vocalizations in female rats. Laboratory Animals 47(4), 324-7.

Standardized environmental enrichment supports enhanced brain plasticity in healthy rats and prevents cognitive impairment in epileptic rats

Environmental enrichment of laboratory animals influences brain plasticity, stimulates neurogenesis, increases neurotrophic factor expression, and protects against the effects of brain insult. However, these positive effects are not constantly observed, probably because standardized procedures of environmental enrichment are lacking. Therefore,...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Fares, R. P., Belmeguenai, A., Sanchez, P.E. et al. 2013. Standardized environmental enrichment supports enhanced brain plasticity in healthy rats and prevents cognitive impairment in epileptic rats. PLOS ONE 8(1): e53888.

Behaviour, stress and welfare of Sprague Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus) on diet board feeding for 24 months

Diet board (DB) feeding aims to reduce the health hazards associated with ad libitum (AL) feeding. Rats have to gnaw wood to detach food from the DB, reducing their food consumption. We studied the welfare effects of DB by measuring...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Laaksonen, S., Nevalainen, T., Ketola, J. et al. 2017. Behaviour, stress and welfare of Sprague Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus) on diet board feeding for 24 months. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 194, 86-94.

A happier rat pack: The impacts of tickling pet store rats on human-animal interactions and rat welfare

Rats find initial interactions with humans frightening, which can lead to negative affect, and poor welfare. A handling technique called “tickling”, which mimics rat rough-and-tumble play, can be used to reduce these negative effects. When tickled, rats produce 50 kilohertz...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: LaFollette, M. R., O'Haire, M. E., Cloutier, S. et al. 2018. A happier rat pack: The impacts of tickling pet store rats on human-animal interactions and rat welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 203, 92-102.

Generalization of effects of environmental enrichment on seeking for different classes of drugs of abuse

Background: Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by persistent vulnerability to relapse during abstinence. In animal models of addiction, accumulating evidence suggests that exposure to environmental enrichment (EE) during periods of abstinence can have curative effects on addiction and reduce...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Sikora, M., Nicolas, C., Istin, M. et al. 2018. Generalization of effects of environmental enrichment on seeking for different classes of drugs of abuse. Behavioural Brain Research 341, 109-113.

Decreased environmental complexity during development impairs habituation of reinforcer effectiveness of sensory stimuli

Previous research has shown that rats reared in simple/impoverished environments demonstrate greater repetitive responding for sensory reinforcers (e.g., light onset). Moreover, the brains of these rats are abnormally developed, compared to brains of rats reared in more complex/enriched environments. Repetitive...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Wang, R., Hausknechta, K. A., Haj-Dahmane, S. et al. 2018. Decreased environmental complexity during development impairs habituation of reinforcer effectiveness of sensory stimuli. Behavioural Brain Research 337, 53-60.