Rat

Preference of single housed rats for a solid-bottom or wire-bottom stainless steel cage floor

We modified a stainless steel multiple-animal wire-bottom cage by covering one-half of the floor surface with a solid plate of stainless steel [emphasis added]. .. At night, rats demonstrated a significant (P

Year Published: 2000Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Rock, F. M., Jaslow, B. W., Peterson, A. et al. 2000. Preference of single housed rats for a solid-bottom or wire-bottom stainless steel cage floor. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 79 (Abstract).

50-kHz chirping (laughter?) in response to conditioned and unconditioned tickle-induced reward in rats: effects of social housing and genetic variables

In these studies the incidence of conditioned and unconditioned 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in young rats was measured in response to rewarding manual tickling by an experimenter. We found that isolate-housed animals vocalize much more then socially housed ones, and...

Year Published: 2000Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Panksepp, J., Burgdorf, J. 2000. 50-kHz chirping (laughter?) in response to conditioned and unconditioned tickle-induced reward in rats: effects of social housing and genetic variables. Behavioural Brain Research 115, 25-38.

Housing environment and enrichment for laboratory rats – refinement and reduction outcome

Three kinds of aspen items were used for enrichment: gnawing blocks of two different sizes [1x1x5 cm; 6x6x6 cm with drilled holes] and rectangular tubes [20x12x12 cm, large enough to fulfill the natural tendency of rats for hiding]. The enrichment...

Year Published: 2000Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Mering, S. 2000. Housing environment and enrichment for laboratory rats - refinement and reduction outcome. Natural and Environmental Sciences - Kuopio UniversityPublications C 114, 1-60.

The effects of enrichment on parameters in hypertensive rats

The study showed that male SHR rats who were each housed with another rat were more active and had a higher systolic pressure than did similar animals housed alone. Diastolic blood pressure or heart rate did not differ. .. Separation...

Year Published: 2000Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Lawson, D. M., Churchill, P. C., Churchill, P. C. 2000. The effects of enrichment on parameters in hypertensive rats . Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 39(1), 9-13.

A conspecific attenuates prolactin responses to open-field exposure in rats

Acute exposure to a novel environment, such as an open field, generally results in a prolactin surge, while several days of exposure to the open field is often characterized by a decline in prolactin. As exposure to the open field...

Year Published: 2000Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Wilson, J. H. 2000. A conspecific attenuates prolactin responses to open-field exposure in rats. Hormones and Behavior 38(1), 39-43.

Brain oxytocin inhibits the (re)activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in male rats: involvement of hypothalamic and limbic brain regions

Increase in oxytocin relases from the hypothalamus inhibits HPA axis activation.

Year Published: 2000Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Neumann, I. D., Kromer, S. A., Toschi, N. et al. 2000 . Brain oxytocin inhibits the (re)activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in male rats: involvement of hypothalamic and limbic brain regions. Regulatory Peptides 96, 31-38.

Behavioral and cardiovascular responses of male Sprague-Dawley rats to common husbandry and experimental procedures: Effect of housing density

Responses of rats housed alone or with another rat were assessed using radio-telemetry. We conclude that some common husbandry and experimental procedures [moving rats to a clean cage, s.c. injection, tail vein injection, exposure to urine and feces from stressed...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Zammit, T. G., Duke, J. L., Lawson, D. M. 2001. Behavioral and cardiovascular responses of male Sprague-Dawley rats to common husbandry and experimental procedures: Effect of housing density. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(4), 67 (Abstract).

Rat housing into the Millennium

The floor pen offers many advantages compared to the standard holding cage, the most evident being the natural or free behavior which the animals are allowed to exhibit. Observations included a marked increase in activity, inquisitiveness of the surroundings and...

Year Published: 2000Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Ballard, T. 2000. Rat housing into the Millennium. Animal Technology 51, 119-123.

Behavioral and CV responses of female Sprague-Dawley rats to common husbandry and experimental procedures: Lack of effect of the estrous cycle

We conclude that some common husbandry and experimental procedures can induce stress-like physiological changes in female rats but, surprisingly, these changes are affected only slightly or not at all by the stage of the estrous cycle.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Duke, J. L., Zammit, T. G., Lawson, D. M. 2001. Behavioral and CV responses of female Sprague-Dawley rats to common husbandry and experimental procedures: Lack of effect of the estrous cycle. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(4), 92 (Abstract).

The effects of routine cage-changing on cardiovascular and behavioral parameters in male Sprague-Dawley rats

The objective of this study was to determine whether the blood pressure and heart rate of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats are affected by the routine animal husbandry procedure of moving animals to clean cages. Cardiovascular parameters were obtained by using...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Duke, J. L., Zammit, T. G., Lawson, D. M. 2001. The effects of routine cage-changing on cardiovascular and behavioral parameters in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(1), 17-20.