Experimenters and treatment methods are the major contributors to data variability in behavioral neuroscience. However, home cage characteristics are likely associated with data variability. Mice housed in breeding cages spontaneously exhibit behavioral patterns such as...
‘Tickling’ induces positive affective states in laboratory rats as evidenced by the production of 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs), although this has mostly been investigated in males. Juvenile rats emit distinctive 50-kHz USV subtypes. Frequency-modulated (FM)...
The dorsal skinfold chamber is one of the most important in vivo models for repetitive longitudinal assessment of microcirculation and inflammation. This study aimed to refine this model by introducing a new lightweight chamber made...
Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by an inappropriate host response to infection. The presence of oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators in sepsis leads to dysregulated gene expression, leading to a hyperinflammatory...
Studies in mice have shown that less aversive handling methods (e.g. tunnel or cup handling) can reduce behavioural measures of anxiety in comparison to picking mice up by their tail. Despite such evidence, tail handling...
This species first arrived at Chester Zoo in June 2014 when a colony of 27 animals was imported from Dresden Zoo, Germany. As with any new species our journey with naked mole rats has not...
Study Objective: Validate a novel method for sleep-wake staging in mice using noninvasive electric field (EF) sensors. Methods: Mice were implanted with electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG) electrodes and housed individually. Noninvasive EF sensors were...
In laboratory animal facilities, it is a common code of practice to house female mice in groups. However, some experimental conditions require to house them individually, even though social isolation may impair their well-being. Therefore...
Animal welfare assessment relies on valid and practical indicators of affect. In mice, the most widely used research vertebrates, lying still with eyes open, inactive-but-awake (IBA) in the home cage, has potential to be one...
Rodents emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) above the human hearing threshold of ~ 20 kHz to communicate emotional states and to coordinate their social interactive behavior. Twenty-two kHz USVs emitted by adult rats have been reported...