Publications

Successive negative contrast: An appropriate approach to measure affective state in dogs? (2025)

Successive negative contrast (SNC) is a decrease in response when animals unexpectedly face reward devaluation to levels below those of animals always receiving low-value rewards. SNC appears to be influenced by background affective states and has thus been proposed as...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Castro, A. C. V. de, Baria-Unwalla, P., Cabrita, A. R. et al. 2025. Successive negative contrast: An appropriate approach to measure affective state in dogs? Animal Welfare 34, e34.

Phenotypical, behavioral, and systemic hallmarks in end-point mouse scenarios (2025)

The state of frailty is a clinical–biological syndrome that affects the older population with a higher risk of functional dependence. Animal models can provide a tool to study this complex scenario. In the present work, we analyzed the physical and...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Humane EndpointAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Castillo-Mariqueo, L., Alveal-Mellado, D., Giménez-Llort, L. 2025. Phenotypical, Behavioral, and Systemic Hallmarks in End-Point Mouse Scenarios. Animals 15(4), 521.

Rabbit Behaviour, Health and Care

This book is an essential, thorough, very practical guide to understanding and caring for your rabbit. By following the advice in this book, both rabbit owners and veterinary health professionals report healthier and more content rabbits. Developed from the successful...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Buseth, M. E., Saunders, R. 2015. Rabbit Behaviour, Health and Care. CABI, Wallingford, Oxfordshire. 225 p.

Appropriate handling of pet rabbits: A literature review

Many rabbits show fear behaviours when lifted off the ground. Estimates from owner surveys suggest that around 60% of pet rabbits struggle when lifted and fear-related aggression is common. This article integrates information from both laboratory and pet rabbit studies...

Year Published: 2016Topics: HandlingAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Bradbury, A. G., Dickens, G. J. E. 2016. Appropriate handling of pet rabbits: A literature review. Journal of Small Animal Practice 57(10), 503-509.

Repeated restraint stress produces acute and chronic changes in hemodynamic parameters in rats

Noninvasive hemodynamic measurements in rats require placing animals in restrainers. To minimize restraint stress-induced artifacts several habituation protocols have been proposed, however, the results are inconclusive. Here, we evaluated if a four-week habituation is superior to a shorter habituation, or...

Year Published: 2016Topics: RestraintAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Sikora, M., Konopelski, P., Pham, K. et al. 2016. Repeated restraint stress produces acute and chronic changes in hemodynamic parameters in rats. Stress 19(6), 621-629.

The calm mouse: An animal model of stress reduction

Chronic stress is associated with negative health outcomes and is linked with neuroendocrine changes, deleterious effects on innate and adaptive immunity, and central nervous system neuropathology. Although stress management is commonly advocated clinically, there is insufficient mechanistic understanding of how...

Year Published: 2012Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gurfein, B. T., Stamm, A. W., Bacchetti, P. et al. 2012. The calm mouse: An animal model of stress reduction. Molecular Medicine 18(1), 606-617.

Rat 50 kHz calls reflect graded tickling-induced positive emotion

Positive animal emotion (affect) is a key component of good animal welfare and plays an important role in stress-coping and resilience. Methods for reliably inducing and measuring positive affect are critical, but both have been limited in availability. In rats,...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hinchcliffe, J. K., Mendl, M., Robinson, E. S. J. 2020. Rat 50 kHz calls reflect graded tickling-induced positive emotion. Current Biology 30(18), R1034-R1035.

Enhancing stress assessment in sledge reindeer (Rangifer tarandus): A pilot study on infrared thermal imaging and its opportunities for advancement as a welfare assessment tool

Measuring immediate physiological stress responses in animals can be challenging; saliva and blood sampling, while invasive, may also generate confounding stress responses, and equipping animals with heart rate sensors is not always feasible. Nevertheless, emerging technologies offer a non-invasive and...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Other Animal

Citation: Liehrmann, O., Ollila, A., Lummaa, V. et al., 2024. Enhancing stress assessment in sledge reindeer (Rangifer tarandus): A pilot study on infrared thermal imaging and its opportunities for advancement as a welfare assessment tool. Animal Behavior and Cognition 11(3), 293-304.

A new research tool for use in sharks and rays: Relevance of reproductive hormone levels in the skin of small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) (2025)

The present study marks a significant step forward in validating the use of skin biopsies for measuring reproductive steroid hormones in sharks. Given the conservation concerns surrounding many chondrichthyan species and the growing emphasis on adhering to the 3R principles...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Fish, Shark & Ray

Citation: Carbajal, A., Lobato, I. G., Agustí, C. et al. 2025. A new research tool for use in sharks and rays: Relevance of reproductive hormone levels in the skin of small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) (2025). Animals 15(5), 762.

Tracking the track: the impact of different grazing strategies on managing equine obesity (2025)

Horses evolved to live in herds, continuously moving and foraging. Domestic horses often have limited social contact and movement, with high calorific intake, contributing to obesity. “Track grazing” is an increasingly popular management system, but evidence of its impact on...

Year Published: 2025Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Cameron, L., Challinor, M., Armstrong, S. et al. 2025. Tracking the track: the impact of different grazing strategies on managing equine obesity. Animals 15(6), 874.