Rodent

Music exposure attenuates anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and increases hippocampal spine density in male rats

Epidemiological and clinical studies suggest that early-life stress (ELS) may lead to the development of mental disorders in adulthood. Maternal separation (MS) is a valid animal model of ELS that produces detrimental effects on brain and behavior of experimental animals....

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Papadakakis, A., Sidiropoulou, K., Panagis, G. 2019. Music exposure attenuates anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and increases hippocampal spine density in male rats. Behavioural Brain Research 372, 112023.

Loss of control over mild aversive events produces significant helplessness in mice

This article is about the importance of giving mice control over what happens to them. Most of the pathophysiology of depression are still unknown because of its numerous disease states of distinct etiology and pathogenesis. Stressful rodent models have been...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Yao, L., Li, Y., Qian, Z. et al. 2019. Loss of control over mild aversive events produces significant helplessness in mice. Behavioural Brain Research 376, 112173.

Effects of combined pre- and post-natal enrichment on anxiety-like, social, and cognitive behaviours in juvenile and adult rat offspring

The pre- and post-natal periods are characterized by unrivalled growth and are sensitive to environmental changes. A correctly stimulating early environment is essential for developing natural behaviors and maintaining affective wellness. Five litters of rat progeny were co-housed through gestation...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Sparling, J. E., Baker, S. L., Bielajew, C. 2018. Effects of combined pre- and post-natal enrichment on anxiety-like, social, and cognitive behaviours in juvenile and adult rat offspring. Behavioural Brain Research 353, 40-50.

Emission of 22 kHz vocalizations in rats as an evolutionary equivalent of human crying: Relationship to depression

There is no clear relationship between crying and depression based on human neuropsychiatric observations. This situation originates from lack of suitable animal models of human crying. In the present article, an attempt will be made to answer the question whether...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, VocalizationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Brudzynski, S. M. 2019. Emission of 22 kHz vocalizations in rats as an evolutionary equivalent of human crying: Relationship to depression. Behavioural Brain Research 363, 1-12.

Distinct environmental enrichment protocols reduce anxiety but differentially modulate pain sensitivity in rats

Environmental enrichment (EE) can alter anxiety as well as perception of nociceptive stimuli, suggesting a relationship between well-being and analgesia. Considering that, we aimed to evaluate the influence of different EE types on anxiety and peripheral pain sensitivity of male...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Faggionato Kimura, L., Mattaraia, V. G. M., Picolo, G. 2019. Distinct environmental enrichment protocols reduce anxiety but differentially modulate pain sensitivity in rats. Behavioural Brain Research 364, 442-446.

Social housing promotes cognitive function through enhancing synaptic plasticity in APP/PS1 mice

Previous studies have shown that loneliness increases the risk of AD (Alzheimer's disease) onset, while active and frequent social housing delays the onset of cognitive impairment. The mechanism of how this occurs remains unclear. In this study, we investigated how...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Liang, F., Yang, S., Zhang, Y. et al. 2019. Social housing promotes cognitive function through enhancing synaptic plasticity in APP/PS1 mice. Behavioural Brain Research 368, 111910.

Voluntary exercise reduces plasma cortisol levels and improves transitory memory impairment in young and aged Octodon degus

Sleep deprivation (SD) has been reported to induce transient cognitive impairment in functional domains commonly affected in dementia, including memory. Indeed, sleep disturbance has been proposed as an early marker for Alzheimer's disease (AD). SD emulates many aging-related modifications, including...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Other Rodent, Rodent

Citation: Estrada, C., Cuenca, L., Cano-Fernandez, L. et al. 2019. Voluntary exercise reduces plasma cortisol levels and improves transitory memory impairment in young and aged Octodon degus. Behavioural Brain Research 373, 112066.

Ultrasound to UltraSee: The use of ultrasound to determine pregnancy in mice

In March 2017 MRC Ares bought an ultrasound machine to assist in determining pregnancy in timed mating mice. Prior to this, visual checks or palpation would be used to confirm pregnancy. There were limitations with these methods as mice generally...

Year Published: 2019Topics: ReproductionAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Kemp, K. 2018. Ultrasound to UltraSee: The use of ultrasound to determine pregnancy in mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(3), 193-195 (IAT Congress 2018 Poster Presentation).

Give us a break!

Literature is replete with studies on stressors to laboratory rodents; knowing the impact research and husbandry interventions, such as routine cage changing, have on rodents' stress levels, physiology and behaviour, we hypothesised that animals recovering in a familiar environment would...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Filby, E. 2019. Give us a break! Animal Technology and Welfare 18(1), 45-48.

Optimising health & welfare tracking using the Sanger Mouse Database

Health tracking of animals is required legally under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to prevent pain, avoidable suffering, distress or lasting harm. This is important with Genetically Modified (GM) animals as they are more likely to have unexpected...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Dench, J., McLaren-Jones, R., Vancollie, V. et al. 2019. Optimising health & welfare tracking using the Sanger Mouse Database. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(1), 62-64.