Rat

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.

Play makes rats more user-friendly

Rats - used for behavioral experiments - are routinely exposed to a play cage without any adverse effects.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Deacon, R. 2001. Play makes rats more user-friendly . Animal Technology 52, 51-52.

Tickling induces reward in adolescent rats

In adolescent rats, 50-kHz vocalizations are most evident during tickling and rough-and-tumble play. The following experiments evaluated whether 50-kHz vocalizations reflect positive social affect by determining (1) if tickling is a rewarding event, (2) if social or isolate housing conditions...

Year Published: 2001Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Burgdorf, J., Panksepp, J. 2001. Tickling induces reward in adolescent rats. Physiology and Behavior 72, 167-173.

The cage preferences of laboratory rats

The rats did not show significant preferences for most of the options [e.g., toys] over an empty cage. The exceptions were shredded paper, a nesting box and a semi-enriched condition incorporating a range of modifications.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Patterson-Kane, E. G., Harper, D. N., Hunt, M. 2001. The cage preferences of laboratory rats. Laboratory Animals 35, 74-79.

The effect of brief halothane anesthesia during daily gavage administration on complications and body weights in rats

5 of 9 rats gavaged without anesthesia died within 10 days.

Year Published: 2001Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Murphy, S. J., Smith, P., Shaivitz A.B. 2001. The effect of brief halothane anesthesia during daily gavage administration on complications and body weights in rats. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 40(2), 9-12.

Practical environmental enrichment for rats and mice (The results of a survey)

The overall aim of this report is .. to share best practice and offer some suggestions as to what can be done to improve the quality of life for the animals in our care.

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

Citation: Mortell, N. 2001. Practical environmental enrichment for rats and mice (The results of a survey). Animal Technology 52, 1-19.