Animal Experimentation and Research Commons^™

Sexual Dimorphism Of Glomerular Capillary Morphology In Rats, Zackarias Coker

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) progresses faster in males than females; however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Sex differences in glomerular capillary morphology has been hypothesized to contribute, in part, to the increased susceptibility to hypertension-induced renal injury and CKD progression in males, but this has not been investigated. The goal of the present study was to assess glomerular capillary morphology in male vs. female rats with intact kidneys and after uninephrectomy (UNX). We hypothesized that glomerular capillary radii (R_CAP) and length (L_CAP) would be greater in male rats.

Male (n=4) and female (n=4) with intact …

Laboratory Rodent Welfare: Thinking Outside The Cage, Jonathan P. Balcombe

Jonathan Balcombe, PhD

This commentary presents the case against housing rats and mice in laboratory cages; the commentary bases its case on their sentience, natural history, and the varied detriments of laboratory conditions. The commentary gives 5 arguments to support this position: (a) rats and mice have a high degree of sentience and can suffer, (b) laboratory environments cause suffering, (c) rats and mice in the wild have discrete behavioral needs, (d) rats and mice bred for many generations in the laboratory retain these needs, and (e) these needs are not met in laboratory cages.

Toward Genuine Rodent Welfare: Response To Reviewer Comments, Jonathan P. Balcombe

Laboratory Experiments Collection

I’m grateful to the editors for soliciting critiques of my commentary and for the opportunity to respond. Because one of the respondents (Patterson-Kane, 2010/this issue) does not take issue with the main points of my article, whereas the other (Blanchard, 2010/this issue) does, I focus my remarks here mostly on Blanchard’s critique.

Laboratory Rodent Welfare: Thinking Outside The Cage, Jonathan P. Balcombe

Laboratory Experiments Collection

This commentary presents the case against housing rats and mice in laboratory cages; the commentary bases its case on their sentience, natural history, and the varied detriments of laboratory conditions. The commentary gives 5 arguments to support this position: (a) rats and mice have a high degree of sentience and can suffer, (b) laboratory environments cause suffering, (c) rats and mice in the wild have discrete behavioral needs, (d) rats and mice bred for many generations in the laboratory retain these needs, and (e) these needs are not met in laboratory cages.

Impact Of Cage Size And Enrichment (Tube And Shelf) On Heart Rate Variability In Rats, Anna E. Brauner, David T. Kurjiaka, Angela Ibragimov, Ann L. Baldwin

Peer Reviewed Articles

Rats respond physiologically and behaviorally to environmental stressors. As cage conditions can be a stressor, it is important that experimental results acquired from caged rats are not confounded by these responses. This study determined the effects of cage size and cage enrichment (tube and shelf) on heart rate variability (HRV) in rats as a measure of stress. Electrocardiogram data were collected from 5 male Sprague-Dawley rats, each implanted with a radio-telemetric transducer to assess the ratio of the low to high frequency components of the HRV power spectrum (LF/HF). This ratio reflects the degree of sympathetic versus parasympathetic nervous activity …

Sub-Aversive Response Contingent Foot Shock As A Positive Reinforcer, Robert Lea Fulwiler

All Master's Theses

Forty-eight rats were divided into 8 groups; four were maintained under normal conditions and the other four under sensory deprivation and tested at o, 3, 6, and 9 days after condition institution. The response was placing the head through a hole in the operant chamber and the stimulus (0, 1.2, 4, or 12 Vac) was contingent upon the response. Analysis ot variance disclosed significant differences (p<.01) between the deprived and the non-deprived groups at days 6 and 9; and a significant interaction between deprivation condition and time of test. No differences were shown between the stimulus intensities indicating that the stimulus did not have a reinforcing effect.