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Psychiatry and Psychology

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Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Behavior

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Diurnally Active Rodents For Laboratory Research, Roberto Refinetti, G. J. Kenagy Dec 2018

Diurnally Active Rodents For Laboratory Research, Roberto Refinetti, G. J. Kenagy

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although inbred domesticated strains of rats and mice serve as traditional mammalian animal models in biomedical research, the nocturnal habits of these rodents make them inappropriate for research that requires a model with human-like diurnal activity rhythms. We conducted a literature review and recorded locomotor activity data from four rodent species that are generally considered to be diurnally active, the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), the degu (Octodon degus), the African (Nile) grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), and the antelope ground squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus). Our data collected under 12L:12D light-dark cycles confirmed and expanded …


Daily Activity Patterns Of 2,316 Men And Women From Five Countries Differing In Socioeconomic Development, Mamane Sani, Roberto Refinetti Jun 2015

Daily Activity Patterns Of 2,316 Men And Women From Five Countries Differing In Socioeconomic Development, Mamane Sani, Roberto Refinetti

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Daily rhythmicity in the locomotor activity of laboratory animals has been studied in great detail for many decades, but the daily pattern of locomotor activity has not received as much attention in humans. We collected waist-worn accelerometer data from more than 2,000 individuals from five countries differing in socioeconomic development and conducted a detailed analysis of human locomotor activity. Body mass index was computed from height and weight. Individual activity records lasting 7 days were subjected to cosinor analysis to determine the parameters of the daily activity rhythm: mesor (mean level), amplitude (half the range of excursion), acrophase (time of …