The advancement and quality of science rely on research that is robust and unbiased in its experimental design, execution, analysis, and reproducibility. In preclinical research, a better understanding of animal emotions and refinement of their...
In mice, burrowing is considered a species-typical parameter for assessing well-being, while this is less clear in rats. This exploratory study evaluated burrowing behaviour in three rat strains during training and in the direct postoperative...
Laboratory rodents spend the entire day housed in standard cages that provide a restricted area for movements and might, therefore, limit physical activity. However, it has not been tested in immature rodents of ages ranging...
Murine translational models are an important tool to understand pain pathophysiology. One procedure used frequently in murine research is the sciatic nerve block. This study sought to demonstrate the use of ultrasound-guided sciatic nerve block...
Oral administration of medication to experimental animals is a cause of significant stress. When coupled to animals who are already under strenuous circumstances due to the disease being modelled, there is a significant risk for...
Preclinical drug studies routinely administer experimental compounds to animal models with the goal of minimizing potential adverse events from the procedure. In this study, we assessed the ability to train adult male Long Evans rats...
Sociocultural changes in the human–animal relationship have led to increasing demands for animal welfare in biomedical research. The 3R concept is the basis for bringing this demand into practice: Replace animal experiments with alternatives where...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental health condition for which current treatments have long-term efficacy in 50% of patients. There is a clear need for better understanding of the mechanisms underlying PTSD and...
“Gentling” (soft touching, “taming”) has long-term effects on the behavior of laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus). Our own studies showed that the use of a “gentling” program in the fourth and fifth week of life resulted...
Respiratory and cardiovascular systems are among the vital organ systems that should be studied in safety pharmacology core battery test. Non-invasive jacketed external telemetry technology that enables concomitant monitoring of both systems has been available...