Use of a conditioning technique to reduce stress associated with repeated intra-peritoneal injections in laboratory rats (2008)

Cloutier, S., Newberry, R. C.

Abstract

The chromodacryorrhea results suggest that handling restraint produced short-term stress and that an additional stressor (injection) superimposed upon handling did not generally result in a stronger stress response. Pairing of rewards with injection did not alleviate the stress response of rats to the procedure and to humans under the conditions used. Although our attempt to condition rats to associate injection with food treats, stroking or tickling was not successful under the conditions used, the opportunity to explore an infrequently visited environment immediately following handling and injection may have minimized the stressfulness of the procedure.