Rat

Enrichment of laboratory rat caging

Social contact seems to be the most important enrichment. Rats show higher demand for contact with three familiar rats, than for larger cages or toys. .. Rats show T-maze preferences for larger cages whether alone or with four cage-mates. .....

Year Published: 2001Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Patterson-Kane, E. G., van de Ven, M., Ras, T. 2001. Enrichment of laboratory rat caging . American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 106 (Abstract).

Effects of caging type and animal source on the development of foot lesions in Sprague Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Noteworthy abnormalities of the plantar surface of the hind foot (i.e., ulcers or nodular swellings) were more common in heavierrats than in lighter animals of the same sex (but different source), and abnormalities were more common in rats housed in...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Peace, T. A., Singer, A. W. 2001. Effects of caging type and animal source on the development of foot lesions in Sprague Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus). Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(5), 17-21.

Therepeutic effects of environmental enrichment on cognitive function and tissue integrity following severe traumatic brain injury in rats

These results indicate that noninvasive environmental stimulation is beneficial in attenuating cognitive deficits and preserving tissue integrity in a TBI model which causes cerebral contusion and cell death.

Year Published: 2001Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Passineau, M. J., Green, E. J., Dietrich, W. D. 2001. Therepeutic effects of environmental enrichment on cognitive function and tissue integrity following severe traumatic brain injury in rats. Experimantal Neurology 168, 373-384.

Environmental enrichment for laboratory rats: A review

In the laboratory, rats have been found to benefit from social contact, shelters, nesting material, objects for gnawing and large, complex cages whilst the provision of toys or open space is largely unsuccessful.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Patterson-Kane, E. G. 2001. Environmental enrichment for laboratory rats: A review. Animal Technology 52, 77-84.

Prolactin in rats is attenuated by conspecific touch in a novel environment

Prolactin is released in response to physical and psychological stress, the latter of which involves an animal's interpretation of its environment as potentially dangerous. This interpretation might be altered by social buffering, as defined by the presence of a social...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Wilson, J. H. 2001. Prolactin in rats is attenuated by conspecific touch in a novel environment. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience 1(2), 199-205.

The effects of regrouping on the growth curve of male Sprague Dawley rats

Rats are usually regrouped on a weekly basis without regard for source, so that the animals in a cage fall within a narrow weight range. ... There were no significant differences of growth rate between the rats in the stable...

Year Published: 2001Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Turcotte, N. 2001. The effects of regrouping on the growth curve of male Sprague Dawley rats. CALAS/ACSAL Symposium, 25 (Abstract).

Exploratory study to determine the preference of the Sprague-Dawley rat for a solid or a wire cage floor

A unique cage design was created to allow residency time, time of day, and frequency of use parameters to be measured when a rat was presented with choice of both [unspecified] solid flooring and wire flooring. ...The rats spent only...

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat

Citation: Sherer, D., Rigel, D. F., Iverson, W. O. 2001. Exploratory study to determine the preference of the Sprague-Dawley rat for a solid or a wire cage floor. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 73 (Abstract).

Environmental enrichment reverses the effects of maternal separation onstress reactivity

Postnatal maternal separation increases hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) gene expression and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and behavioral responses to stress. We report here that environmental enrichment during the peripubertal period completely reverses the effects of maternal separation on both HPA and behavioral...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Francis, D. D., Diorio, J., Plotsky, P. M. et al. 2002. Environmental enrichment reverses the effects of maternal separation onstress reactivity. Journal of Neuroscience 22, 7840-7843.

Early-life handling stimulation and environmental enrichment: Are some of their effects mediated by similar neural mechanisms? Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 73(1), 233-245

Neonatal (early) handling (EH) and environmental enrichment (EE) of laboratory rodents have been the two most commonly used methods of providing supplementary environmental stimulation in order to study behavioral and neurobiological plasticity. A large body of research has been generated...

Year Published: 2002Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HandlingAnimal Type: Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Mouse, Other Rodent, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Fernández-Teruel, A., Giménez-Llort, L., Escorihuela, R. M. et al. 2002. Early-life handling stimulation and environmental enrichment: Are some of their effects mediated by similar neural mechanisms? Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 73(1), 233-245.

Beneficial effects of enriched environment following status epilepticus inimmature rats

There was a significant increase in neurogenesis and pCREB immunostaining in the dentate gyrus in both control and SE animals exposed to the enriched environment compared to the nonenriched groups.

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Faverjon, S., Silveira, D. C., Fu, D. D. et al. 2002. Beneficial effects of enriched environment following status epilepticus inimmature rats. Neurology 59, 1356-1364.