Playful handling of laboratory rats is more beneficial when applied before than after routine injections
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| Category | Journal Articles |
|---|---|
| Abstract |
The ability of positive affective states to counteract negative states engendered by routine medical procedures remains poorly studied. In laboratory rats, positive affect typically associated with rough-and-tumble play can be induced through human "hand play" - the experience of being "tickled" by a human in a manner mimicking the social interactions normally occurring during physical-social play. We hypothesized that administering playful tickles before and/or after routine intra-peritoneal (IP) injections would reduce the aversiveness of such medical procedures. Accordingly, from 32 to 41 days of age, male Sprague-Dawley rats ( N=96) were either given a daily IP saline injection (INJ), or restrained similarly but not injected (control, CON), and exposed to one of four experimental treatments: no tickling, namely, left undisturbed before and after the restraint procedure (TN), or tickled for 2 min immediately before (TB), after (TA), or before and after (TBA) the restraint procedure. Rat affective response measures included rates of 50- and 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalization (USV) (validated as indicators of positive and negative affect, respectively), as well as audible vocalization rates (indicating pain and discomfort), duration of the restraint procedure, and ease-of-handling scores. Comparing INJ with CON conditions, injections reduced 50-kHz USV during (CON: 98.993.54 calls/min, INJ: 59.22.42, P0.05). Tickling did not affect the responses of rats to injection, specifically, but increased 50-kHz USV compared to TN during the period(s) when applied (Before - TN: 8.31.18, TB: 150.73.16, TA: 30.92.19, TBA: 154.43.04; After - TN: 12.41.39, TB: 72.52.59, TA: 150.53.59, TBA: 182.62.67, P |
| Publication Title | Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
| Volume | 164 |
| Pages | 81-90 |
| ISBN/ISSN | 0168-1591 |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.applanim.2014.12.012 |
| Language | English |
| Author Address | Center for the Study of Animal Well-being, Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, P.O. Box 647620, Pullman, WA 99164-7620, USA.scloutie@vetmed.wsu.edu |
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