Refinement Database

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

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

Links to the full text for publications that appear in open access journals or are published on the AWI website are provided under the abstract.

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 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. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Gilberto, D., Michener, M., Smith, B. et al. 2022. Chronic collection of cerebrospinal fluid from rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with cisterna magna ports: Update on refinements. Comparative Medicine 72(1), 45-49.
More than 20 y ago, we developed an animal model for chronic and continuous collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from conscious rhesus macaques. Since our previous publication in 2003, we have successfully implanted 168 rhesus...
Nicolis, I. N., Beale, C. N., Bidot, W. A. et al. 2022. Performance and consistency of circulating warm water blankets for rodents. JAALAS 61(1), 96-100.
General anesthesia as used for rodent research can have adverse effects on physiologic mechanisms. Thermoregulation is often greatly inhibited, with resultant deleterious effects on cardiac and respiratory function. These potential effects can be mitigated by...
Buckmaster, C. L., Levesque, D., LaFollette, M. et al. 2022. Five hot topics in refinement of nonhuman primate neuroscience research. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(1) (January/February), 24-26.
Members of the North American 3Rs Collaborative (NA3RsC) refinement initiative have chosen to summarize developments in five hot topics of interest: 1. Tips for welfare-friendly transport, chairing, and restraint; 2. Guidance on refining food and...
Guerrero-Martin, S. M., Brill, S., Carlson, B. W. 2022. Development and implementation of a positive reinforcement training program for nonhuman primates in biomedical research. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(1) (January/February), 48-52.
Despite clear benefits of PRT for NHPs and biomedical research, investigators often view the investment in personnel expertise and time required to train animals as deterrents towards adopting PRT. We provide an example of how...
Paterson, E. A., Turner, P. V. 2022. Challenges with assessing and treating pain in research primates: A focused survey and literature review. Animals 12(17), 2304.
Research primates may undergo surgical procedures making effective pain management essential to ensure good animal welfare and unbiased scientific data. Adequate pain mitigation is dependent on whether veterinarians, technicians, researchers, and caregivers can recognize and...
Bethell, E. J., Khan, W., Hussain, A. 2022. A deep transfer learning model for head pose estimation in rhesus macaques during cognitive tasks: Towards a nonrestraint noninvasive 3Rs approach. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 255, 105708.
Head orientation is a measure of attention used in behavioral psychological research with non-human primates. It is used across a broad range of disciplines and settings, from the field to the laboratory. Field methods are...
Jacob, G., Katti, H., Cherian, T. et al. 2021. A naturalistic environment to study visual cognition in unrestrained monkeys. eLife 10, e63816.
Macaque monkeys are widely used to study vision. In the traditional approach, monkeys are brought into a lab to perform visual tasks while they are restrained to obtain stable eye tracking and neural recordings. Here...
Charbonneau, J. A., Amaral, D. G. Bliss-Moreau, E. 2022. Social housing status impacts rhesus monkeys’ affective responding in classic threat processing tasks. Scientific Reports 12(1), 4140.
Individuals’ social contexts are broadly recognized to impact both their psychology and neurobiology. These effects are observed in people and in nonhuman animals who are the subjects for comparative and translational science. The social contexts...
Stow, R., Kendrick, J., Ibbotson, N. et al. 2021. A new group housing approach for non-human primate metabolism studies. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 107, 106947.
Understanding the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) of candidate drugs in preclinical species is an integral part of the safety and efficacy evaluation in drug development. For this purpose, the housing of single animals...
Haertel, A. J., Schultz, M. A., Colgin, L. M. et al. 2021. Predictors of subcutaneous injection site reactions to sustained-release buprenorphine in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 60(3), 329-336.
Subcutaneous injection site reactions to sustained-release buprenorphine hydrochloride (Buprenorphine SR) in macaques have been reported in only a single case report. In the current study, we evaluated the incidence rate and predictors of buprenorphine SR...
Houser, L. A., Ramsey, C., de Carvalho, F. M. et al. 2021. Improved training and semen collection outcomes using the closed box chair for macaques. Animals 11(8), 2384.
Collaborative semen collection in monkeys is a valuable tool in research, animal collection management, and conservation efforts. To obtain samples, monkeys are often restrained in open restraint chairs (ORC) with the “pole and collar” technique...
Bowling, P. A., Bencivenga, M. A., Leyva, M. E. et al. 2021. Effects of a heated anesthesia breathing circuit on body temperature in anesthetized rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 60(6), 675-680.
This study evaluated the effects of using a heated anesthesia breathing circuit in addition to forced-air warming on body temperature in anesthetized rhesus macaques as compared with forced-air warming alone. Hypothermia is a common perianesthetic...
Tölgyesi, B., Bakker, J., Nagy, K. et al. 2021. Refined acquisition of high-resolution chest CTs in macaques by free breathing. Laboratory Animals 55(6), 551-559.
The use of medical imaging as a non-invasive or minimally invasive method to assess disease or treatment response continues to grow. A similar trend is observed in pre-clinical research, in general, and more specifically in...
Filliettaz, C., Maxwell, L., Dragon, M. et al. 2020. Novel bleeding techniques in hamsters. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(1) (January/February), 44-46.
Hamsters have historically been used in our pharmacokinetic (PK) studies using the retro-orbital (RO) bleeding technique to collect blood samples. If performed incorrectly, this technique has the potential for animal welfare complications not usually seen...
Zemanova, M. A. 2020. Towards more compassionate wildlife research through the 3Rs principles: Moving from invasive to noninvasive methods. Wildlife Biology 2020(1), no page numbers.
Research in ecology and wildlife biology remains crucial for increasing our knowledge and improving species management and conservation in the midst of the current biodiversity crisis. However, obtaining information on population status often involves invasive...
Sharpe, S. A., Scott, S., Taylor, I. et al. 2020. Use of high frequency jet ventilation as a refinement for imaging macaques with respiratory disease. Laboratory Animals 54(4), 386–390.
Imaging is used in human medicine to diagnose disease and monitor treatment efficacy. Computed tomography (CT) positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance (MR) are applied to animal models of infectious diseases to increase data...
Hambrecht, S., Oerke, A.‐K., Heistermann, M. et al. 2020. Diurnal variation of salivary cortisol in captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana) under routine management conditions and in relation to a translocation event. Zoo Biology 39(3), 186–196.
The present study assessed the diurnal variation in salivary cortisol in captive African elephants during routine management (baseline) and in relation to a potential stressor (translocation) to evaluate to what extent acute stress may affect...
Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2020. It’s Okay to Cry - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume V. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.
This is the 5th volume of selected discussions that took place on the electronic Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum between February 2016 and December 2019. The forum was created in October 2002; it allows...
Rentsch, A. K., Rufener, C. B., Spadavecchia, C. et al. 2019. Laying hen’s mobility is impaired by keel bone fractures and does not improve with paracetamol treatment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 216, 19-25.
Keel bone fractures (KBF) in laying hens pose a severe problem for animal welfare as they are likely to be associated with pain and suffering. Furthermore, they are suspected to hinder or restrict hens in...
Smith, A. A., Halliday, L. C., Lindeblad, M. O. et al. 2019. Evaluation of analgesic patches in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). JAALAS 58(3), 356-361.
Opioids are widely used in veterinary and human medicine to manage pain. However, there is a paucity of information in the literature regarding the pharmacokinetics of opioid transdermal patches (TDP) in NHP. Therefore, to determine...
Association of Primate Veterinarians. 2019. Association of Primate Veterinarians’ Position Statement: Cerebrospinal fluid aspiration for nonhuman primates in biomedical research. JAALAS 58(4), 428-429.
The Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV) recognizes that CSF collection may be required for both clinical and research purposes in nonhuman primates (NHP). Because there are inherent risks associated with the technique, the laboratory animal...
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Care, Use, and Welfare of Marmosets as Animal Models for Gene Editing-Based Biomedical Research: Proceedings of a Workshop. The National Academies Press: Washington, DC, 122 pp.
The marmoset, a type of small monkey native to South America, is a research model of increasing importance for biomedical research in the United States and globally. Marmosets offer a range of advantages as animal...
Ishizuka, S., Kawamoto, Y., Toda, K. et al. 2019. Bonobos’ saliva remaining on the pith of terrestrial herbaceous vegetation can serve as non-invasive wild genetic resources. Primates 60(1), 7–13.
Evaluating the genetic diversity of natural populations of endangered species is important for conservation. Although the genetic analysis of wildlife usually requires collecting DNA non-invasively, the variety of non-invasive DNA sampling methods is limited for...
Shelton, K. A., Nehete, B. P., Chitta, S. et al. 2019. Effects of transportation and relocation on immunologic measures in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). JAALAS 58(6), 774–782.
NHP are a small, but critical, portion of the animals studied in research laboratories. Many NHP are imported or raised at one facility and subsequently moved to another facility for research purposes. To improve our...
Descovich, K. A., Richmond, S. E., Leach, M. C. et al. 2019. Opportunities for refinement in neuroscience: Indicators of wellness and post-operative pain in laboratory macaques. Alternatives to Animal Experimentation 36(4), 535-554.
Being able to assess pain in nonhuman primates undergoing biomedical procedures is important for preventing and alleviating pain, and for developing better guidelines to minimize the impacts of research on welfare in line with the...

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