This chapter presents the analysis of behavior in laboratory rats. The three main ways of evaluating behavior are: end-point measures, kinematics, and. Familiarization with the experimenter can also influence rodent behavior.
In a study of anxiety-like behavior in the EPM, rats familiar with the experimenter demonstrated more consistent behavior than rats unfamiliar with the experimenter [83]. Even the presence or absence of an observer in the testing room can influence behavior. What Makes Laboratory Rats Ideal for Research? "Almost all human genes known to be associated with diseases have counterparts in the rat genome," according to the National Institutes of Health.
Larger in size than mice, and with a short reproductive cycle and low breeding cost, laboratory rats are valuable to researchers in various therapeutic areas such as toxicology, immunology, teratology. Behavioral analysis in rodents - general considerations Careful experimental design (especially with respect to controls) and standardization of housing conditions, place and time of analysis and the test procedures are essential in behavioral research. Discover the vital role of lab rats in scientific advancement, from their unique suitability to ethical considerations and the future of research models.
The nervous system is designed to produce behavior, and so behavioral analysis is the ultimate assay of neural function. In this chapter we provide an overview of the behavior of rodents. We also provide references for testing details.
Most of the behavioral methodology comes from research on rats, but the ethograms of rodents are similar enough to allow for generalization of the methods, if. The first objective is to present an introduction of rat behavior. In choosing the rat as the subject species, the book has made the assumption that this species will remain, as it has in the past, the primary subject used the laboratory investigations of behavior.
The second objective is to describe the organization and complexity of rat behavior. 2.1 INTRODUCTION The laboratory rat is one of the most extensively used animal models in biomedical research. A recent PubMed search of the National Library of Medicine indicated that more than 36,000 arti-cles concerning rats were published in a single year.
Rats are second only to mice in terms of num-bers of animals used in biomedical research. Nevertheless, more than 50% scienti c articles. THE LABORATORY RAT The common laboratory rat, Rattus norvegicus, is an ideal experimental animal for several reasons: abundance of literature published pertaining to them, ease of handling, high fertility rate, short gestation period, low maintenance and disease model for various human disorders and diseases.
Animal experimentation helps us to understand human biology. Rodents and, in particular, rats are among the most common animals used in animal experiments. Reporting data on animal age, animal body weight, and animal postnatal developmental stages.