What is it like to be a rat? Rat sensory perception and its implications for experimental design and rat welfare

Burn, Charlotte C.

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2008.02.007

Cited by 112 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 246 publications

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“…This could mean that a certain degree of novelty associated with ambiguous locations partly overrides a bias-based attribution of emotional valence. Alternatively, there might be differences in the brain's resolution capacities for auditory/frequency stimuli versus spatial/locational information (Burn, 2008;Talwar & Gerstein, 1998). Interestingly, the same phenomenon was observed by Burman et al (2009), who also reported an overall treatment effect inclusive of all three ambiguous locations, without any location-specific differences.…”

Section: Cnlh Versus Clhsupporting

confidence: 48%

A glass full of optimism: Enrichment effects on cognitive bias in a rat model of depression

Richter

Schick

Hoyer

et al. 2012

Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci

111

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Investigations of cognitive biases in animals are conceptually and translationally valuable because they contribute to animal welfare research and help to extend and refine our understanding of human emotional disorders, where biased information processing is a critical causal and maintenance factor. We employed the "learned helplessness" genetic rat model of depression in studying cognitive bias and its modification by environmental manipulations. Using a spatial judgment task, responses to ambiguous spatial cues were assessed before and after environmental enrichment to test whether this manipulation would cause an optimistic shift in emotional state. Twenty-four congenitally helpless and nonhelpless male rats were trained to discriminate two different locations, "rewarded" versus "aversive." After successful acquisition of this spatial discrimination, cognitive bias was probed by measuring responses to three ambiguous locations. Latencies to "reach" and to actively "choose" a goal pot were recorded alongside exploratory behaviors. An overall strain difference was observed, with helpless rats displaying longer "reach" latencies than nonhelpless rats. This implies a "pessimistic" response bias in helpless rats, underscoring their depressive-like phenotype. No strain differences were observed regarding other behavioral measures. Half of the animals were then transferred to enriched cages and retested. Environmental enrichment resulted in reduced "choose" latencies in both rat strains, associating enrichment with more optimistic interpretations of ambiguous cues. Our results emphasize the suitability of cognitive bias measurement for animal emotion assessment. They extend the methodological repertoire for characterizing complex phenotypes and bear implications for animal welfare research and for the use of animal models in preclinical research.

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Section: Cnlh Versus Clhsupporting

confidence: 48%

A glass full of optimism: Enrichment effects on cognitive bias in a rat model of depression

Richter

Schick

Hoyer

et al. 2012

Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci

111

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“…Regarding noise influences on laboratory animal physiology and behaviour, both auditory (hearing damage) and non auditory effects have been reported and reviewed in the literature (Voipio 1997, Burn 2008. Intense noise exposure can damage the cochlea and inner ear and lead to a cascade of auditory effects along the entire central auditory cascade (Turner et al 2005).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effects of sound on animal physiology and behavior depend not only on its intensity (or loudness), which is measured in decibels (dB), its frequency, which is measured in hertz (Hz), and its duration and pattern (including vibration potential), but also on the hearing ability of the animal species and strain, the age and physiological state of the animal at the time of exposure, to what sounds the animal has been exposed during its lifetime (noise exposure history of the animal) and to the predictability of the acoustic stimulus (Clough 1982, Gamble 1982, Voipio 1997, Turner et al 2005, Burn 2008. Meaningful sounds at relatively low-intensity levels can have a considerable impact on animal physiology and behaviour by engaging limbic structures and higher centers involved in determining context and meaning (Turner et al 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

Effects of long-term construction noise on health of adult female Wistar rats

Žymantienė¹,

Želvytė²,

Pamparienė³

et al. 2017

Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences

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The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of long-term building construction noise from refurbishment, which including vibration, on some physiological parameters and histopathological changes of organs of Wistar rats. Twenty 12 month old female rats were divided into two groups: rats group I (n = 10) were exposed to long-term construction noise and rats group II (n = 10) were kept under normal noise level. Study results revealed that long-term construction noise from building refurbishment has an influence on body weight, haematological and some serum biochemical parameters affects caecal microbiota, and causes histopathological changes in the organs of adult female Wistar rats. It was noticed that rats in group I exihibited significantly higher mean values for total protein, albumin and lower values for glucose, AST, ALT, blood urea nitrogen, haematological and caecal microbiota parameters than rats in group II. The most common pathologies were determined in the kidney, liver and lungs. Other observed pathologies were lymphadenopathy, catarrhal inflammation of the intestines, spleen hyperplasia and mammary gland adenofibroma. Single cases were subcutaneous fibroma in the thoracic region, abortus with uterine inflammation and thymus hyperplasia with formation of cysts were found.

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“…Burn et al, 2006a;Schondelmeyer et al, 2006;AbouIsmail et al, 2008;, so this study models what would happen in these laboratories at least. Moreover, to the human observer (CB), the two cages subjectively smelled noticeably different to each other during the final week of the study; and given that olfaction in rats is vastly more sensitive than in humans (Burn, 2008), this difference would probably have been more obvious to them and detectable earlier in the study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rats seem indifferent between their own scent-marked homecages and clean cages

Burn

Mason

2008

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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Previous large-scale, long-term studies suggest that rat welfare is little affected by cage-cleaning frequency. Here, we investigate this further using a preference test: arguably a more sensitive welfare indicator than those used previously. Nine pairs of rats were each housed in two interconnected cages of differing cleanliness. One cage was cleaned every 3-4 days, while the other remained uncleaned for 18 days. All rats were handled at each cage-cleaning (regardless of which cage they chose) so that this aspect of the cleaning routine remained consistent. Furthermore, ammonia build-up was negligible. We could thus see whether rats prefer their own scent-marks over clean bedding, without the confounds of differential handling or the potential harm induced by ammonia. Dwelling, resting, feeding, drinking, defecation, and ammonia concentrations were compared between the two cages. None were found to differ significantly between the cages over the course of the experiment. Power tests and confidence intervals support the conclusion that the rats had no meaningful preference for self-scented, familiar areas over clean areas. A weak preference cannot be ruled out, due to the small sample and the space limitations within laboratory cages. Also, the lack of ammonia means that the threshold at which rats would start to avoid soiled areas that do generate this compound remains undetermined. Nevertheless, together with previous studies showing no clear effects of cage-cleaning frequency on rat welfare, these choice tests indicate that it is unlikely that olfactory disruption during cage-cleaning is an important welfare concern for stable nonbreeding groups of rats. #

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What is it like to be a rat? Rat sensory perception and its implications for experimental design and rat welfare

Cited by 112 publications

References 246 publications

A glass full of optimism: Enrichment effects on cognitive bias in a rat model of depression

A glass full of optimism: Enrichment effects on cognitive bias in a rat model of depression

Effects of long-term construction noise on health of adult female Wistar rats

Rats seem indifferent between their own scent-marked homecages and clean cages

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