Rat

An alternative method of rat restraint

Year Published: 2008Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Roberts, L., Dyson, M. 2008. An alternative method of rat restraint. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 13(6), 2.

Report of the 2006 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group holds a one-day meeting every autumn to discuss current welfare research and to exchange views on rodent welfare issues. A key aim of the group is to encourage people to think about the lifetime experience...

Year Published: 2008Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Euthanasia, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Reed, B., Hawkins, P., Latham, N. et al. 2008. Report of the 2006 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting. Lab Animal 37(5), 216-222.

Novel food items as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits

This column discusses the use of novel dietary supplements as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits. Items are commercially available from lab animal supply companies. The purpose of enrichment is to encourage behaviors that are appropriate for a particular species...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Mouse, Other Rodent, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Brown, C. 2009. Novel food items as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits. Lab Animal 38(4), 119-120.

Social buffering of the stress response: Diversity, mechanisms, and functions

Protracted or repeated activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) system is associated with a variety of physical and psychological pathologies. Studies dating back to the 1970s have documented many cases in which the presence of a social companion can moderate HPA...

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Bird, Dog, Finch, Guinea Pig, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Animal, Other Nonhuman Primate, Other Rodent, Rat, Rodent, Sheep, Squirrel Monkey

Citation: Hennessy MB, Kaiser S, Sachser N. 2009. Social buffering of the stress response: Diversity, mechanisms, and functions. Frontiers in Neuroendocrin. 30;470-82.

Setting the pace for retinal development: Environmental enrichment acts through insulin-like growth factor 1 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor

Environmental enrichment strongly affects visual system maturation both at retinal and cortical levels. Which molecular pathways are activated by an enriched environment (EE) to regulate visual system development has not been clarified. Here, we show that early [postnatal day 1...

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Landi S, Ciucci F, Maffei L, et al. 2009. Setting the pace for retinal development: Environmental enrichment acts through insulin-like growth factor 1 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. J Neurosci. 29;10809-10819.

Let sleeping rats lie: Does the timing of husbandry procedures affect laboratory rat behaviour, physiology and welfare?

Light phase treatment rats thus displayed indicators of reduced welfare (e.g. less sleep, elevated chromodacryorrhoea, lighter thymus glands, higher aggression) relative to dark phase treatment rats. Therefore, husbandry procedures applied in the dark rather than the light phase might improve...

Year Published: 2008Animal Type: Rat

Citation: Abou-Ismail, U. A., Burman, O. H. P., Nicol, C. J. et al. 2008. Let sleeping rats lie: Does the timing of husbandry procedures affect laboratory rat behaviour, physiology and welfare? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 111(3-4), 329-341.

Environmental enrichment enhances spatial cognition in rats by reducing thigmotaxis (wall hugging) during testing

Rats, Rattus norvegicus, housed with environmental enrichment do better in tests of spatial cognition than rats housed in barren cages. The leading hypothesis is that exposure to social and inanimate complexity leads to better cognitive-processing abilities, which directly enhances performance...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Harris, A. P., D'Eath, R. B., Healy, S. D. 2009. Environmental enrichment enhances spatial cognition in rats by reducing thigmotaxis (wall hugging) during testing . Animal Behaviour 77, 1459-1464.

Effect of playful handling during routine care on anxiety-related responses of laboratory rats

Regular playful handling reduced fear of familiar humans but did not decrease anxiety.

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat

Citation: Cloutier, S., Panksepp, J., Newberry, R. C. 2009. Effect of playful handling during routine care on anxiety-related responses of laboratory rats. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 80 (Abstract).

Tickled pink

When researchers interact playfully, even briefly, with the rats in their care, the rats' quality of life is made substantially better.

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Cloutier, S., Newberry, R. C. 2009. Tickled pink. Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Quarterly 58(2), 24-25.

The effect of dividing walls, a tunnel, and restricted feeding on cardiovascular responses to cage change and gavage in rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Cage change and gavage are routine procedures in animal facilities, yet little is known about whether housing modifications change responses to these procedures. Telemetric activity and cardiovascular parameters were assessed in this experiment. BN and F344 male rats were housed...

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kemppinen, N. M., Meller, A. S., Mauranen, K. O. et al. 2009. The effect of dividing walls, a tunnel, and restricted feeding on cardiovascular responses to cage change and gavage in rats (Rattus norvegicus) . Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science] 48(2), 157-165.