Rodent

Psychological stress and environmental adaptation in enriched vs. impoverished housed rats

The enrichment effect on emotional reactivity in the open-field is long-lasting.

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

Citation: Larsson, F., Winblad, B., Mohammed, A. H. 2002. Psychological stress and environmental adaptation in enriched vs. impoverished housed rats. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 73, 193-207.

Comfortable quarters for hamsters in research institutions

Practical guidelines for the species-adequate housing of hamsters in research facilities. Any housing system for hamsters should satisfy the physiological and ethological needs for resting, nestbuilding, grooming, exploring, climbing, hiding, digging, searching for food, hoarding and gnawing. Golden hamsters readily...

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Hamster, Rodent

Citation: Kuhnen, G. 2002. Comfortable quarters for hamsters in research institutions. In: Comfortable Quarters for Laboratory Animals, Ninth Edition. Reinhardt, V. , Reinhardt, A. (eds.), 34-38. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

Effects of cortical ischemia and postischemic environmental enrichmenton hippocampal cell genesis and differentiation in the adult rat

Postischemic environmental enrichment increased the ipsilateral generation of astrocytes normalizing the astrocyte-to-neuron ratio, which was significantly reduced in rats housed in standard environment postischemically.

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Komitova, M., Perfilieva, E., Mattsson, B. et al. 2002. Effects of cortical ischemia and postischemic environmental enrichmenton hippocampal cell genesis and differentiation in the adult rat. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism 22, 852-860.

Effects of enriched environments with different durations and startingtimes on learning capacity during aging in rats assessed by a refinedprocedure of the Hebb-Williams maze task

These results show that aged animals still have appreciable plasticity in cognitive function, and suggest that environmental stimulation could benefit aging humans as well.

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kobayashi, S., Ohashi, Y., Ando, S. 2002. Effects of enriched environments with different durations and startingtimes on learning capacity during aging in rats assessed by a refinedprocedure of the Hebb-Williams maze task. Journal of Neuroscience Research 70, 340-346.

Developing and testing a novel cage insert, the Mouse House , designed to enrich the lives of laboratory mice without adversely affecting the science

The 'Mouse House' should satisfy requirements for both environmental enrichment and legislation suggesting the use of cage inserts that allow privacy for the animal but facilitate observation. Bar biting was significantly increased [sic] when the 'Mouse House' was provided.

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

Citation: Key, D., Hewett, A. 2002. Developing and testing a novel cage insert, the Mouse House , designed to enrich the lives of laboratory mice without adversely affecting the science. Animal Technology and Welfare 1, 55-64.

Neuronal plasticity and dendritic spines: effect of environmental enrichment on intact and postischemic rat brain

Housing rats in an enriched environment significantly increases spine density in superficial cortical layers in intact and lesioned brain.

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

Citation: Johansson, B. B., Belichenko, P. V. 2002. Neuronal plasticity and dendritic spines: effect of environmentalenrichment on intact and postischemic rat brain. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism 22, 89-96.

Chocolate, an effective means of oral drug delivery in rats

We trained the animals to smell the chocolate and develop a taste for it by holding the animal and placing the chocolate into its mouth using a blunt metal applicator (in our project we used a 14-gauge oral gavage needle)....

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Huang-Brown, K. M., Guhad, F. A. 2002. Chocolate, an effective means of oral drug delivery in rats. Lab Animal 31(10), 34-36.

Postnatal oxytocin treatment and postnatal stroking of rats reduce blood pressure in adulthood

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of postnatal oxytocin (OT) treatment and postnatal stroking on blood pressure and heart rate in adult rats. For this purpose, rats were treated subcutaneously with OT (1 mg/kg) once...

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Holst, S., Uvnas-Moberg, K., Petersson, M. 2002. Postnatal oxytocin treatment and postnatal stroking of rats reduce blood pressure in adulthood. Autonomic Neuroscience 99(2), 85-90.

Enrichment slows disease progression in R6/2 Huntington?s disease mice

Housing mice in standard laboratory cages increased the rate of disease progression while housing them in enriched cages slowed the progress to a more 'normal' rate. Mice housed in such deprived conditions are unlikely to prove a good model of...

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

Citation: Hockly, E., Cordery, P. M., Woodman, B. et al. 2002. Enrichment slows disease progression in R6/2 Huntington?s disease mice. Annals of Neurology 51, 235-242.

Presence of mother and unfamiliar female alters levels of testosterone, progesterone, cortisol, adrenocorticotropin, and behavior in maturing guinea pigs

Although the guinea pig is characterized by precocial physical development and minimal active maternal care, studies suggest the presence of the mother can influence neuroendocrine and behavioral activity of offspring even well beyond weaning. ... The present study examined ~40-day-old...

Year Published: 2002Animal Type: Guinea Pig, Rodent

Citation: Hennessy, M. B., Maken, D. S., Graves, F. C. 2002. Presence of mother and unfamiliar female alters levels of testosterone, progesterone, cortisol, adrenocorticotropin, and behavior in maturing guinea pigs . Hormones and Behavior 42, 42-52.