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. 
Abou-Ismail, U. A., Darwish, R. A., Ramadan, S. G. A. 2014. Should cages of laboratory rats be enriched physically or socially? Global Veterinaria 13(4), 570-582.

Experiments of environmental enrichment usually compare between group-housed rats in enriched and unenriched cages or between group-housed rats in enriched cages and single-housed rats in unenriched cages. This bias is mainly to maximize the chance...

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...

Wren, M. A., Dauchy, R. T., Hill, S. M. et al. 2013. Colored enrichment devices influence behavior and circadian metabolism and physiology in Sprague-Dawley rats. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 608 (Abstract #PS2).

Enrichment devices and strategies, as currently endorsed by the Guide, are used to improve laboratory animal health and wellbeing. Many conclusions supporting this premise, however, are based primarily on observational studies with minimal consideration for...

Wasko, K., Acklin, C. J. 2013. Fresh façades for rodent homes: Revisiting enrichment naturally. Enrichment Record 16, 9-11.

Currently, enrichment consists of a variety of plastic toys to promote natural behaviors, but why use artificial devices when you could use natural materials like the animals experience in their native environment? ... From these...

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...

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...

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...

Grimm, J. W., Weber, R., Barnes, J. et al. 2013. Brief exposure to novel or enriched environments reduces sucrose cue-reactivity and consumption in rats after 1 or 30 days of forced abstinence from self-administration. PLOS ONE 8(1), e54164.

Environmental enrichment (EE) reduces drug and sucrose cue-reactivity in rats. In a previous study we reported that 1 month of EE (large cage, toys, and social cohorts) significantly reduced sucrose cue-reactivity. In the present study...

Fares, R. P., Belmeguenai, A., Sanchez, P.E. et al. 2013. Standardized environmental enrichment supports enhanced brain plasticity in healthy rats and prevents cognitive impairment in epileptic rats. PLOS ONE 8(1): e53888.

Environmental enrichment of laboratory animals influences brain plasticity, stimulates neurogenesis, increases neurotrophic factor expression, and protects against the effects of brain insult. However, these positive effects are not constantly observed, probably because standardized procedures of...

Azar, T. A., Sharp, J. L., Lawson, D. M. 2012. Effects of cage enrichment on heart rate, blood pressure, and activity of female Sprague-Dawley and spontaneously hypertensive rats at rest and after acute challenges. JAALAS 51(3), 339-344.

Here we sought to determine whether a nonsocial cage enrichment program, identical to one we previously used with male rats, was effective in reducing heart rate or systolic blood pressure (SBP) in female Sprague-Dawley rats...

Winnicker, C., Gaskill, B. 2012. Using enrichment to improve welfare and reduce suffering. Enrichment Record 12, 16-19.

European Directive 2010/63/EU requires that accommodation and care are refined so as to minimize suffering, and that the lifetime experience of the animal is taken into account when assessing the actual severity of procedures. So...

Olivo, D. 2012. The benefits of adding a little color to a monkey's environment. Enrichment Record 10, 7.

Imagine if your everyday world was boring, blah and completely sterile looking with limited amounts of color. Unimaginable, right? Here at Legacy Schering Plough/Merck, we thought the same about our nonhuman primates who look at...

Froberg-Fejko, K. M., Lecker, J. L. 2012. Going back to nature: The benefits of wood enrichment. Lab Animal 41(11), 345-347.

Environmental enrichment can be defined as altering the living environment of captive animals in order to provide them with opportunities to express more of their natural behavioral repertoire. The challenge of providing effective enrichment in...

Rollin, B. E. 2012. ENRICHMENT as a moral presupposition of animal research. Enrichment Record 10, 13-16.

Enrichment is therefore not the bighearted largess that much of the research community seems to believe it is. Rather, it represents an obvious step towards creating a decent life for research animals and minimizing avoidable...

Maertens, L., Buijs, S., Davoust, C. 2012. Gnawing blocks as cage enrichment and dietary supplement for does and fatteners: Intake, performance and behaviour. World Rabbit Science 21(S1), 185-192.

The aim of this study was to evaluate different experimental gnawing blocks as cage enrichment in rabbits. One hundred and five pregnant rabbit does housed in conventional wire cages were distributed according to their parity...

Bratcher, N., Clemons, D., Medina, L. 2012. History of enrichment in the ILAR Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Enrichment Record 12, 10-12.

Throughout the nearly 50 year history of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR) Guide, little attention or content was allocated to the subject of enrichment until the current (8th) edition (NRC 2011). Although animal...

Luchins, K. R., Baker, K. C., Gilbert, M. H. et al. 2011. Manzanita wood: A sanitizable enrichment option for nonhuman primates. JAALAS 50(6), 884-887.

Wooden objects are often used as nonhuman primate enrichment to provide variety and novelty, promote exploratory behavior, and supply an outlet for curiosity. However, concerns have been raised regarding the ability to sanitize wood by...

Buijs, S., Maertens, L., Tuyttens, F. A. M. et al. 2011. Glucocorticoid metabolites in rabbit faeces - Influence of environmental enrichment and cage size. Physiology & Behavior 104(3), 469-473.

The concentration of glucocorticoid metabolites (GCM) in rabbit faeces has been suggested as a non-invasive indicator of stress. In the present study, GCM concentrations were measured in faeces of fattening rabbits kept in groups of...