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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Emotional Component Of Pain Perception In The Medicinal Leech?, Brian D. Burrell Jan 2022

Emotional Component Of Pain Perception In The Medicinal Leech?, Brian D. Burrell

Animal Sentience

Crump et al. have provided a series of criteria to assess animal sentience that is focused on the perception of pain, which is known to have both sensory and emotional components. They also provide a qualitative scoring system to assess data that address the eight criteria and apply this paradigm to decapod crustaceans. The criteria laid out have the potential to be applied to other invertebrates typically thought to have sensory response to tissue damage, but no emotional component to pain perception.


A Framework For Evaluating Evidence Of Pain In Animals, Matilda Gibbons, Lars Chittka Jan 2022

A Framework For Evaluating Evidence Of Pain In Animals, Matilda Gibbons, Lars Chittka

Animal Sentience

Crump et al. define eight criteria indicating sentience in animals, with a focus on pain. Here, we point out the risk of false negative or false positive diagnoses of pain. Criteria of different levels of inclusivity are useful for using the precautionary principle in animal welfare considerations, and for more formal scientific evidence of pain. We suggest tightening the criteria -- from more general evidence of sentience to pain alone -- because crucial evidence for animal welfare decisions might otherwise be missed for animals subjected to invasive and injurious procedures.


Inhibition Of Pain Or Response To Injury In Invertebrates And Vertebrates, Matilda Gibbons, Sajedeh Sarlak Jan 2020

Inhibition Of Pain Or Response To Injury In Invertebrates And Vertebrates, Matilda Gibbons, Sajedeh Sarlak

Animal Sentience

In certain situations, insects appear to lack a response to noxious stimuli that would cause pain in humans. For example, from the fact that male mantids continue to mate while being eaten by their partner it does not follow that insects do not feel pain; it could be the result of modulation of nociceptive inputs or behavioural outputs. When we try to infer the underlying mental state of an insect from its behaviour, it is important to consider the behavioural effects of the associated physiological and neurobiological mechanisms.


Welfare Challenges Influence The Complexity Of Movement: Fractal Analysis Of Behaviour In Zebrafish, Anthony G. Deakin, Joseph W. Spencer, Andrew R. Cossins, Iain S. Young, Lynne U. Sneddon Feb 2019

Welfare Challenges Influence The Complexity Of Movement: Fractal Analysis Of Behaviour In Zebrafish, Anthony G. Deakin, Joseph W. Spencer, Andrew R. Cossins, Iain S. Young, Lynne U. Sneddon

Experimental Research and Animal Welfare Collection

The ability to assess welfare is an important refinement that will ensure the good condition of animals used in experimentation. The present study investigated the impact of invasive procedures on the patterns of movement of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Recordings were made before and after fin clipping, PIT tagging and a standard pain test and these were compared with control and sham handled zebrafish. The fractal dimension (FD) from the 3D trajectories was calculated to determine the effect of these treatments on the complexity of movement patterns. While the FD of zebrafish trajectories did not differ over time in either the …


If It Looks Like A Duck: Fish Fit The Criteria For Pain Perception, Julia E. Meyers-Manor Jan 2018

If It Looks Like A Duck: Fish Fit The Criteria For Pain Perception, Julia E. Meyers-Manor

Animal Sentience

Whereas we have denied the experience of pain to animals, including human babies, the evidence is becoming clearer that animals across a variety of species have the capacity to feel pain (Bellieni, 2012). As converging findings are collected from pain studies and the study of cognition, it is becoming harder to deny that fish are among the species that do feel pain.


Pain In Fish: Evidence From Peripheral Nociceptors To Pallial Processing, Michael L. Woodruff Jan 2018

Pain In Fish: Evidence From Peripheral Nociceptors To Pallial Processing, Michael L. Woodruff

Animal Sentience

The target article by Sneddon et al. (2018) presents convincing behavioral and pharmacological evidence that ray-finned fish consciously perceive noxious stimuli as painful. One objection to this interpretation of the evidence is that the fish nervous system is not complex enough to support the conscious experience of pain. Data that contradict this objection are presented in this commentary. The neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the fish nervous system from the peripheral nerves to the pallium is able to support the sentient appreciation of pain.


Denialism And Muddying The Water Or Organized Skepticism And Clarity? That Is The Question, Ben Diggles, Howard I. Browman Jan 2018

Denialism And Muddying The Water Or Organized Skepticism And Clarity? That Is The Question, Ben Diggles, Howard I. Browman

Animal Sentience

The research being commented on here has been criticized and defended in journals. Sneddon et al. (2018) add nothing substantive. We have nothing further to add. Readers are referred to Diggles (2018) and to Browman et al. (2018) for a detailed assessment.


Defining Pain And Painful Sentience In Animals, Edgar T. Walters Jan 2018

Defining Pain And Painful Sentience In Animals, Edgar T. Walters

Animal Sentience

Sentience is essential to most definitions of pain, including a detailed definition invoked by Sneddon et al. to argue that adult and perhaps larval fish feel pain. Because proving painful sentience in non-human animals is not feasible, multiple lines of indirect evidence are needed to implicate pain. This commentary examines the list of 17 criteria used by Sneddon et al. to conclude that fish have conscious pain. The criteria include tests of nociceptive, motivational, and cognitive properties useful for revealing pain-like states that can be understood biologically and be related evolutionarily to human pain. However, additional research is needed to …


Reduction In Activity By Noxious Chemical Stimulation Is Ameliorated By Immersion In Analgesic Drugs In Zebrafish, Javier Lopez-Luna, Qussay Al-Jubouri, Waleed Al-Nuaimy, Lynne U. Sneddon Apr 2017

Reduction In Activity By Noxious Chemical Stimulation Is Ameliorated By Immersion In Analgesic Drugs In Zebrafish, Javier Lopez-Luna, Qussay Al-Jubouri, Waleed Al-Nuaimy, Lynne U. Sneddon

Anesthesia and Analgesia Collection

Research has recently demonstrated that larval zebrafish show similar molecular responses to nociception to those of adults. Our study explored whether unprotected larval zebrafish exhibited altered behaviour after exposure to noxious chemicals and screened a range of analgesic drugs to determine their efficacy to reduce these responses. This approach aimed to validate larval zebrafish as a reliable replacement for adults as well as providing a high-throughput means of analysing behavioural responses. Zebrafish at 5 days postfertilization were exposed to known noxious stimuli: acetic acid (0.01%, 0.1% and 0.25%) and citric acid (0.1%, 1% and 5%). The behavioural response of each …


The Potential For Sentience In Fishes, Jay R. Stauffer Jr. Jan 2017

The Potential For Sentience In Fishes, Jay R. Stauffer Jr.

Animal Sentience

Balcombe’s book is filled with information on the biology, behavior, and life history of fishes. I do not agree with all his premises. I am still somewhat perplexed about the discussion of whether fish feel pain; I am not sure whether the distinction between nociception and pain makes any difference. Overall, however, his treatment of the principles of both natural and sexual selection is comprehensive and accurate, and has greatly increased my knowledge and awareness of the biology, ethology, and potential for sentience in fishes. In summary, this work has exposed me to new ideas about how to examine fishes …


Fish Pain: An Inconvenient Truth, Culum Brown Jan 2016

Fish Pain: An Inconvenient Truth, Culum Brown

Animal Sentience

Whether fish feel pain is a hot political topic. The consequences of our denial are huge given the billions of fish that are slaughtered annually for human consumption. The economic costs of changing our commercial fishery harvest practices are also likely to be great. Key outlines a structure-function analogy of pain in humans, tries to force that template on the rest of the vertebrate kingdom, and fails. His target article has so far elicited 34 commentaries from scientific experts from a broad range of disciplines; only three of these support his position. The broad consensus from the scientific community is …


Comparative Evolutionary Approach To Pain Perception In Fishes, Culum Brown Jan 2016

Comparative Evolutionary Approach To Pain Perception In Fishes, Culum Brown

Animal Sentience

Arguments against the fact that fish feel pain repeatedly appear even in the face of growing evidence that they do. The standards used to judge pain perception keep moving as the hurdles are repeatedly cleared by novel research findings. There is undoubtedly a vested commercial interest in proving that fish do not feel pain, so the topic has a half-life well past its due date. Key (2016) reiterates previous perspectives on this topic characterised by a black-or-white view that is based on the proposed role of the human cortex in pain perception. I argue that this is incongruent with our …


Fish Lack The Brains And The Psychology For Pain, Stuart W.G. Derbyshire Jan 2016

Fish Lack The Brains And The Psychology For Pain, Stuart W.G. Derbyshire

Animal Sentience

Debate about the possibility of fish pain focuses largely on the fish’s lack of the cortex considered necessary for generating pain. That view is appealing because it avoids relatively abstract debate about the nature of pain experience and subjectivity. Unfortunately, however, that debate cannot be entirely avoided. Subcortical circuits in the fish might support an immediate, raw, “pain” experience. The necessity of the cortex only becomes obvious when considering pain as an explicitly felt subjective experience. Attributing pain to fish only seems absurd when pain is considered as a state of explicit knowing.


Pain And Fish Welfare, Eliane Gonçalves-De-Freitas Jan 2016

Pain And Fish Welfare, Eliane Gonçalves-De-Freitas

Animal Sentience

The evolutionary approach of Key’s (2016) target article, generically comparing humans with fish of all kinds, is simplistic. The author ignores published research on structural and molecular aspects of pain in fish. The target article reads more like a selective polemic against fish welfare than an even-handed analysis.


Defining And Assessing Animal Pain, Lynne U. Sneddon, Robert W. Elwood, Shelley A. Adamo, Matthew C. Leach Nov 2014

Defining And Assessing Animal Pain, Lynne U. Sneddon, Robert W. Elwood, Shelley A. Adamo, Matthew C. Leach

Experimentation Collection

The detection and assessment of pain in animals is crucial to improving their welfare in a variety of contexts in which humans are ethically or legally bound to do so. Thus clear standards to judge whether pain is likely to occur in any animal species is vital to inform whether to alleviate pain or to drive the refinement of procedures to reduce invasiveness, thereby minimizing pain. We define two key concepts that can be used to evaluate the potential for pain in both invertebrate and vertebrate taxa. First, responses to noxious, potentially painful events should affect neurobiology, physiology and behaviour …


Characterisation Of Chemosensory Trigeminal Receptors In The Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss: Responses To Chemical Irritants And Carbon Dioxide, Jessica J. Mettam, Catherine R. Mccrohan, Lynne U. Sneddon Jan 2012

Characterisation Of Chemosensory Trigeminal Receptors In The Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss: Responses To Chemical Irritants And Carbon Dioxide, Jessica J. Mettam, Catherine R. Mccrohan, Lynne U. Sneddon

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Trigeminally innervated, mechanically sensitive chemoreceptors (M) were previously identified in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, but it is not known whether these receptors are responsive only to noxious, chemical irritants or have a general chemosensory function. This study aimed to characterise the stimulus–response properties of these receptors in comparison with polymodal nociceptors (P). Both P and M gave similar response profiles to acetic acid concentrations. The electrophysiological properties were similar between the two different afferent types. To determine whether the receptors have a nociceptive function, a range of chemical stimulants was applied to these receptors, including non-noxious stimuli such as ammonium …


The Efficacy Of Three Types Of Analgesic Drugs In Reducing Pain In The Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Jessica J. Mettam, Lois J. Oulton, Catherine R. Mccrohan, Lynne U. Sneddon Sep 2011

The Efficacy Of Three Types Of Analgesic Drugs In Reducing Pain In The Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Jessica J. Mettam, Lois J. Oulton, Catherine R. Mccrohan, Lynne U. Sneddon

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Recent research has shown the possibility of pain perception in fish; therefore, the use of analgesia or “painkillers” should be considered for invasive procedures. However, there is relatively little information on the effectiveness of analgesic drugs nor on the appropriate dose for fish. This study assessed the efficacy of three types of drug: an opioid, buprenorphine, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), carprofen and a local anaesthetic, lidocaine. Each drug was tested at three doses on rainbow trout that were noxiously stimulated and the most effective dose was also given to fish experiencing no pain to investigate side-effects. Ventilation rate and …


Investigation Of Van Gogh-Like 2 Mrna Regulation And Localisation In Response To Nociception In The Brain Of Adult Common Carp (Cyprinus Carpio), Siobhan C. Reilly, Anja Kipar, David J. Hughes, John P. Quinn, Andrew R. Cossins, Lynne U. Sneddon Nov 2009

Investigation Of Van Gogh-Like 2 Mrna Regulation And Localisation In Response To Nociception In The Brain Of Adult Common Carp (Cyprinus Carpio), Siobhan C. Reilly, Anja Kipar, David J. Hughes, John P. Quinn, Andrew R. Cossins, Lynne U. Sneddon

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

The Van Gogh-like 2 (vangl2) gene is typically associated with planar cell polarity pathways, which is essential for correct orientation of epithelial cells during development. The encoded protein of this gene is a transmembrane protein and is highly conserved through evolution. Van Gogh-like 2 was selected for further study on the basis of consistent regulation after a nociceptive stimulus in adult common carp and rainbow trout in a microarray study. An in situ hybridisation was conducted in the brain of mature common carp (Cyprinus carpio), 1.5 and 3 h after a nociceptive stimulus comprising of an acetic acid injection to …


Pain Perception In Fish: Indicators And Endpoints, Lynne U. Sneddon Oct 2009

Pain Perception In Fish: Indicators And Endpoints, Lynne U. Sneddon

Aquaculture Collection

Recent evidence has shown that fish display aversive behavioral and physiological reactions and a suspension of normal behavior in response to noxious stimuli that cause pain in other animals and humans. In addition to these behavioral responses, scientists have identified a peripheral nociceptive system and recorded specific changes in the brain activity of fish during noxious stimulation. As a result of these observations teleost fish are now considered capable of nociception and, in some opinions, pain perception. From both an experimental and an ethical perspective, it is important that scientists be able to assess possible pain and minimize discomfort that …


Effect Of Noxious Stimulation Upon Antipredator Responses And Dominance Status In Rainbow Trout, Paul J. Ashley, Sian Ringrose, Katie L. Edwards, Emma Wallington, Catherine R. Mccrohan, Lynne U. Sneddon Feb 2009

Effect Of Noxious Stimulation Upon Antipredator Responses And Dominance Status In Rainbow Trout, Paul J. Ashley, Sian Ringrose, Katie L. Edwards, Emma Wallington, Catherine R. Mccrohan, Lynne U. Sneddon

Aquaculture Collection

A potentially painful experience may modify normal behavioural responses. To gauge the importance of pain relative to predation or social status, we presented competing stimuli, a predator cue or an unfamiliar social group, to two groups of noxiously treated rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. In the predator cue experiment, fish were classified as bold or shy. Noxiously stimulated fish did not show antipredator responses, suggesting that pain is the imperative. In the social status experiment, noxiously stimulated fish held individually and undisturbed showed an increase in respiration rate and plasma cortisol. As a comparison, we used the dominant or subordinate fish …


Addressing Distress And Pain In Animal Research: The Veterinary, Research, Societal, Regulatory And Ethical Contexts For Moving Forward, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens, Andrew N. Rowan Jan 2009

Addressing Distress And Pain In Animal Research: The Veterinary, Research, Societal, Regulatory And Ethical Contexts For Moving Forward, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens, Andrew N. Rowan

Experimentation Collection

While most people recognize that biomedical scientists are searching for knowledge that will improve the health of humans and animals, the image of someone deliberately causing harm to an animal in order to produce data that may lead to some future benefit has always prompted an uncomfortable reaction outside the laboratory. However, proponents of animal research have usually justified the practice by reference to greater benefits (new knowledge and medical treatments) over lesser costs (in animal suffering and death). Given that one of the costs of animal research is the suffering experienced by the animals, the goal of eliminating distress …


Behavioural Analysis Of A Nociceptive Event In Fish: Comparisons Between Three Species Demonstrate Specific Responses, Siobhan C. Reilly, John P. Quinn, Andrew R. Cossins, Lynne U. Sneddon Nov 2008

Behavioural Analysis Of A Nociceptive Event In Fish: Comparisons Between Three Species Demonstrate Specific Responses, Siobhan C. Reilly, John P. Quinn, Andrew R. Cossins, Lynne U. Sneddon

Sentience Collection

Nociception is the sensory mechanism by which potentially harmful stimuli are detected in animals and humans. The behavioural responses to noxious stimulation have been studied in two fish species thus far. However, since species-specific differences are seen in mammals, more species need to be examined to determine whether nociceptive responses are generic in fish. The present study investigated the behavioural and respiratory response to an acute noxious or potentially painful stimulus in common carp (Cyprinus carpio), zebrafish (Danio rerio) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Behavioural parameters such as frequency of swimming, use of cover and any anomalous behaviour were measured …


Novel Candidate Genes Identified In The Brain During Nociception In Common Carp (Cyprinus Carpio) And Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Siobhan C. Reilly, John P. Quinn, Andrew R. Cossins, Lynne U. Sneddon May 2008

Novel Candidate Genes Identified In The Brain During Nociception In Common Carp (Cyprinus Carpio) And Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Siobhan C. Reilly, John P. Quinn, Andrew R. Cossins, Lynne U. Sneddon

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Recent studies have demonstrated that teleost fish possess nociceptors that detect potentially painful stimuli and that the physiological properties of these fibres are markedly similar to those found in mammals. This finding led to suggestions of possible pain perception in fish, contrary to the view that the sensory response in these animals is limited to the spinal cord and hindbrain and as such is reflexive. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if the brain is active at the molecular level by using a microarray analysis of gene expression in the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain of two fish …


Novel Object Test: Examining Nociception And Fear In The Rainbow Trout, Lynne U. Sneddon, Victoria A. Braithwaite, Michael J. Gentle Oct 2003

Novel Object Test: Examining Nociception And Fear In The Rainbow Trout, Lynne U. Sneddon, Victoria A. Braithwaite, Michael J. Gentle

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

This study aimed to assess fear responses to a novel object while experiencing a noxious event to determine whether nociception or fear will dominate attention in a fish in novel object testing paradigm. This experimentally tractable animal model was used to investigate (1) the degree of neophobia to a novel object while experiencing noxious stimulation, (2) the response of the fish after removing the fear-causing event by using a familiar object, and (3) the effects of removing the nociceptive response by morphine administration and examining the response to a novel object. Control animals displayed a classic fear response to the …


The Evidence For Pain In Fish: The Use Of Morphine As An Analgesic, Lynne U. Sneddon Sep 2003

The Evidence For Pain In Fish: The Use Of Morphine As An Analgesic, Lynne U. Sneddon

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

This paper discusses the evidence for pain perception in fish and presents new data on morphine analgesia in fish. Recent anatomical and electrophysiological studies have demonstrated that fish are capable of nociception, the simple detection of a noxious, potentially painful stimulus and the reflex response to this. To prove pain perception, it must be demonstrated that an animal’s behaviour is adversely affected by a potentially painful event and this must not be a reflex response. The present study examined the acute effects of administering a noxious chemical to the lips of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to assess what changes occurred …


Do Fishes Have Nociceptors? Evidence For The Evolution Of A Vertebrate Sensory System, Lynne U. Sneddon, Victoria A. Braithwaite, Michael J. Gentle Jun 2003

Do Fishes Have Nociceptors? Evidence For The Evolution Of A Vertebrate Sensory System, Lynne U. Sneddon, Victoria A. Braithwaite, Michael J. Gentle

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Nociception is the detection of a noxious tissue-damaging stimulus and is sometimes accompanied by a reflex response such as withdrawal. Pain perception, as distinct from nociception, has been demonstrated in birds and mammals but has not been systematically studied in lower vertebrates. We assessed whether a fish possessed cutaneous nociceptors capable of detecting noxious stimuli and whether its behavior was sufficiently adversely affected by the administration of a noxious stimulus. Electrophysiological recordings from trigeminal nerves identified polymodal nociceptors on the head of the trout with physiological properties similar to those described in higher vertebrates. These receptors responded to mechanical pressure, …


Trigeminal Somatosensory Innervation Of The Head Of A Teleost Fish With Particular Reference To Nociception, Lynne U. Sneddon May 2003

Trigeminal Somatosensory Innervation Of The Head Of A Teleost Fish With Particular Reference To Nociception, Lynne U. Sneddon

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Trigeminal somatosensory receptors have not been characterised in teleost fish and studies in elasmobranchs have failed to identify nociceptors. The present study examined the trigeminal nerve of a teleost fish, the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to determine what types of somatosensory receptors were present on the head of the trout specifically searching for nociceptors. Single unit recordings were made from receptive fields on the head of the fish innervated by the trigeminal nerve. Each receptive field was tested for sensitivity to mechanical, thermal and chemical stimulation. Five different receptor types were found: fast adapting receptors responding to mechanical stimulation; slowly …