A well-known developmental event of retinal maturation is the progressive segregation of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) dendrites into a and b sublaminae of the inner plexiform layer (IPL), a morphological rearrangement crucial for the emergence...
In this experiment, 64 pairs of animals of the strain C57BL/6J were used. Half of the animals were born and reared until weaning in standard cages and the other half in cages twice the size...
We investigated whether housing two female mice in a cage, separated by a grid partition ('living apart together') counters the adverse effects of individual housing on postoperative recovery. Results indicated that socially housed mice appear...
The question was asked: "Rodents are often restrained for data collection procedures, such as blood collection and injection, by coaxing them into tubes, for example syringe cylinders or perspex tubes. What can be done to...
The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group holds a one-day meeting every autumn to discuss current welfare research and to exchange views on rodent welfare issues. A key aim of the group is to encourage people to...
There is strong evidence that sensory experience in early life has a profound influence on the development of sensory circuits. Very little is known, however, about the role of experience in the early development of...
This column discusses the use of novel dietary supplements as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits. Items are commercially available from lab animal supply companies. The purpose of enrichment is to encourage behaviors that are...
For oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in mice, multiple blood samples need to be taken within a few hours from conscious mice. Today, a number of essential parameters may be analysed on very small amounts...
In standard laboratory environments mice are housed at 20-24 °C. However, their thermoneutral zone ranges between 26 °C and 34 °C. This challenge to homeostasis is by definition stressful, and could therefore affect many aspects...
Stereotypic behaviours are common in animals in impoverished housing, arising from two complementary processes: (1) thwarted attempts to perform motivated behaviours; (2) forebrain dysfunction impeding normal behavioural inhibition. When enriched animals are moved to impoverished...