Refinement Database

Database on Refinement of Housing, Husbandry, Care, and Use of Animals in Research

This database, created in 2000, is updated every four months with newly published scientific articles, books, and other publications related to improving or safeguarding the welfare of animals used in research.

Tips for using the database:

  • This landing page displays all of the publications in the database.
  • Use the drop-down menus to filter these publications by Animal Type, Setting, and/or Topic.
  • Clicking on a parent category (e.g., Rodent) will include publications relating to all the items in that category (e.g., Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, etc.).
  • You may also add a keyword to further narrow your search.
  • Please note that at this time, only publications dated 2010 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Animal Type and Topic, and only publications dated 2020 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Setting. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Hawkins, P. 2014. Facts and demonstrations: Exploring the effects of enrichment on data quality. Enrichment Record 18, 12-21.

There is widespread support within the scientific community for the concept that better welfare equals better science. It is also broadly accepted that environmental enrichment improves welfare. I have seen much evidence of support for...

Callan, T. 2014. Primates Presents. Enrichment Record 18, 5-6.

In the world of enrichment, ideas can be limitless. Sometimes, you just have to think outside the box... or in this case, "inside the box"! Who doesn't love a present with the colorful exterior and...

Burlingame, L. A., Lofgren, J. L. 2014. Presence of nesting material does not prevent ability to accurately identify sick or dead mice during routine health checking. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 603 (Abstract #P204).

Whether nesting material assists or hinders the ability to identify sick mice during routine health check is a widely debated topic. Currently, our large and diverse academic research institution is exploring the possibility of providing...

Doulames, V., Lee, S., Shea, T. B. 2014. Environmental enrichment and social interaction improve cognitive function and decrease reactive oxidative species in normal adult mice. International Journal of Neuroscience 124(5), 369-376.

Environmental stimulation and increased social interactions stimulate cognitive performance, while decrease in these parameters can exacerbate cognitive decline as a function of illness, injury, or age. We examined the impact of environmental stimulation and social...

Febinger, H.Y., George, A., Priestley, J. et al. 2014. Effects of housing condition and cage change on characteristics of sleep in mice. JAALAS 53(1), 29-37.

Although human subjects are widely used to study sleep and sleep disorders, animals have been invaluable in developing our understanding of the physiology of sleep and underlying mechanisms of sleep disorders. Environmental stimuli are likely...

Gregoire, C., Bonenfant, D., Le Nguyen, A. et al. 2014. Untangling the influences of voluntary running, environmental complexity, social housing and stress on adult hippocampal neurogenesis. PLOS ONE 9(1), e86237.

Environmental enrichment (EE) exerts powerful effects on brain physiology, and is widely used as an experimental and therapeutic tool. Typical EE paradigms are multifactorial, incorporating elements of physical exercise, environmental complexity, social interactions and stress...

Monteiro, B. M., Moreira, F. A., Massensini, A. R. et al. 2014. Enriched environment increases neurogenesis and improves social memory persistence in socially isolated adult mice. Hippocampus 24(2), 239-248.

Social memory consists of the information necessary to identify and recognize cospecifics and is essential to many forms of social interaction. Social memory persistence is strongly modulated by the animal's experiences. We have shown in...

O'Connor, A. M., Burton, T. J., Leamey, C. A. et al. 2014. The use of the puzzle box as a means of assessing the efficacy of environmental enrichment. JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) 94, e52225.

Environmental enrichment can dramatically influence the development and function of neural circuits. Further, enrichment has been shown to successfully delay the onset of symptoms in models of Huntington's disease, suggesting environmental factors can evoke a...

Hawkins, P. 2014. Refining housing, husbandry and care for animals used in studies involving biotelemetry. Animals 4(2), 361-373.

Biotelemetry can contribute towards reducing animal numbers and suffering in disciplines including physiology, pharmacology and behavioural research. However, the technique can also cause harm to animals, making biotelemetry a ‘refinement that needs refining’. Current welfare...

Alworth, L. C., Buerkle, S. C. 2013. The effects of music on animal physiology, behavior and welfare. Lab Animal 42(2), 54-61.

Physiological and psychological effects of listening to music have been documented in humans. The changes in physiology, cognition and brain chemistry and morphology induced by music have been studied in animal models, providing evidence that...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which...

Phillips, S., Miller, P., Rudling, B. et al. 2013. Environmental enrichment - what works best and do animals need it? Animal Technology and Welfare 11, 49-51.
Pierre, P. J., Torres, N. A., Rosga, M. D. et al. 2013. Colony-wide assessment of the foraging devices: Refinement of delivery practices, cost and the caloric content delivered via foraging devices. American Journal of Primatology 75(S1), 82. (36th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #163)

Foraging opportunities are a key component of enrichment in captive nonhuman primates (NHP) providing manipulative opportunities in which animals can engage in species-typical behaviors. Recent studies suggest captive NHP populations have increased body weight over...

Neeb, K. 2013. The role and responsibilities of the enrichment coordinator. Enrichment Record 15, 17-20.

The challenges with being an Enrichment Coordinator can be as variable as your roles and responsibilities. But the rewards are just as great. As an Enrichment Coordinator, I am able to be part of bettering...

van Luijk, J., Cuijpers, Y., van der Vaart, L. et al. 2013. Assessing the application of the 3Rs: A survey among animal welfare officers in The Netherlands. Laboratory Animals 47(3), 210-219.

Implementation of the 3Rs (Replacement, Refinement and Reduction) in animal studies is a legal requirement in many countries. In The Netherlands, animal welfare officers (AWOs) are appointed to monitor the welfare of laboratory animals. As...

Palmer, J. 2013. Targeted approaches for enrichment: Nutrition offers many benefits for laboratory animals. Enrichment Record 17, 10-11.

The field of laboratory animal enrichment is continually evolving. New enrichment products, methodologies, and protocols are being developed, revised and updated daily, and for good reason: enrichment is a critical component to improving and maintaining...

Ottesen, J. L. 2013. Provision of environmental enrichment: Scientifically proven or use of common sense? Enrichment Record 16, 5-8.

In an ideal world, of course, it would be nice to have the time and resources to prove everything scientifically and in many cases this is also the right approach. However, sometimes the use of...

Hrapkiewicz, K., Colby, L. A., Denison, P. 2013. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction (4th Ed). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, IA.

Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction, Fourth Edition offers a user-friendly guide to the unique anatomy and physiology, care, common diseases, and treatment of small mammals and nonhuman primates. Carefully designed for ease of use...

Gaskill, B. N., Winnicker, C., Garner, J. P. et al. 2013. The naked truth: Breeding performance in nude mice with and without nesting material. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 143(2-4), 110-116.

In laboratories, mice are housed at ambient temperatures between 20 and 24 C, which is below their lower critical temperature of 30 C, but comfortable for human workers. Thus, mice are under chronic thermal stress...

Dragon, M. 2013. Getting on the same page: Using a checklist to communicate environmental enrichment. Enrichment Record 15, 5-6.

Multiple species, study protocols and user needs make it difficult to develop a one-size-fits-all approach to standardizing enrichment. Fortunately, it turns out that there is a very simple solution to the complex issue of getting...

David, J. M., Knowles, S., Lamkin, D. M. et al. 2013. Individually ventilated cages impose cold stress on laboratory mice: A source of systemic experimental variability. JAALAS 52(6), 738-744.

Individual ventilated cages (IVC) are increasing in popularity. Although mice avoid IVC in preference testing, they show no aversion when provided additional nesting material or the cage is not ventilated. Given the high ventilation rate...

David, J. M., Stout, D. 2013. Individually ventilated cages impose cold-stress on laboratory mice: A source of systemic experimental variability. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 610 (Abstract #PS10).

Individual ventilated cages (IVC) have recently been increasing in popularity. Based on the high rates of ventilation with IVCs, we developed 3 hypotheses: first, mice housed in IVCs experience significantly more cold-stress than mice housed...

Cruden, J. 2013. Can regular access to floor pens affect caged rabbit behavior? American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 615-616 (Abstract #PS43).

The main objective of the program of research, of which this study is part, is to evaluate the housing and environmental enrichment for laboratory rabbits. The aim is to determine whether modifications to basic housing...

Gaskill, B. N., Gordon, C. J., Davis, J. K. et al. 2013. Impact of nesting material on mouse body temperature and physiology. Physiology & Behavior 110, 87-95.

In laboratories, mice are housed at 20-24 °C, which is below their lower critical temperature (≈30 °C). Thus, mice are potentially cold stressed, which can alter metabolism, immune function, and reproduction. These physiological changes reflect...

Abelson, K. S. P., Jacobsen, K. R., Sundbom, R. et al. 2012. Voluntary ingestion of nut paste for administration of buprenorphine in rats and mice. Laboratory Animals 46(4), 349-351.

An adequate analgesic strategy is important to improve the postoperative recovery and welfare of laboratory rats and mice. It is desirable that the method for administering the drug is non-invasive and stress-free. We have previously...