Addressing the role of animal research in psychology.

Author(s):  
Suzanne C. Baker ◽  
Sherry L. Serdikoff
Keyword(s):  
2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 2488-2496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio A Recio ◽  
Adela F Iliescu ◽  
Isabel de Brugada

Research on perceptual learning shows that the way stimuli are presented leads to different outcomes. The intermixed/blocked (I/B) effect is one of these outcomes, and different mechanisms have been proposed to explain it. In human research, it seems that comparison between stimuli is important, and the placement of a distractor between the pre-exposed stimuli interferes with the effect. Results from animal research are usually interpreted in different terms because the type of procedure normally used in animal perceptual learning does not favour comparison. In our experiments, we explore the possibility that a distractor placed between the to-be-discriminated stimuli may interfere with the perceptual learning process in rats. In Experiment 1, two flavoured solutions are presented in an I/B fashion, with a short time lapse between them to favour comparison, showing the typical I/B effect. In Experiment 2, we introduced a distractor in between the solutions, abolishing this effect. Experiment 3 further replicates this by comparing two intermixed groups with or without distractor. The results replicate the findings from human research, suggesting that comparison also plays an important role in animal perceptual learning.


Author(s):  
Abdul Q. Khan ◽  
Kodappully S. Siveen ◽  
Kirti S. Prabhu ◽  
Shilpa Kuttikrishnan ◽  
Sabah Akhtar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

ILAR Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L Walker

Abstract This article appeals to virtue ethics to help guide laboratory animal research by considering the role of character and flourishing in these practices. Philosophical approaches to animal research ethics have typically focused on animal rights or on the promotion of welfare for all affected, while animal research itself has been guided in its practice by the 3Rs (reduction, refinement, replacement). These different approaches have sometimes led to an impasse in debates over animal research where the philosophical approaches are focused on whether or when animal studies are justifiable, while the 3Rs assume a general justification for animal work but aim to reduce harm to sentient animals and increase their welfare in laboratory spaces. Missing in this exchange is a moral framework that neither assumes nor rejects the justifiability of animal research and focuses instead on the habits and structures of that work. I shall propose a place for virtue ethics in laboratory animal research by considering examples of relevant character traits, the moral significance of human-animal bonds, mentorship in the laboratory, and the importance of animals flourishing beyond mere welfare.


2013 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
E.A.F. Dancet ◽  
M. Brännström ◽  
K. Brasky ◽  
D. Chai ◽  
A.W.S. Chan ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Kirsty Bannister

The landmark paper discussed in this chapter is ‘Opioid-induced hyperalgesia: Abnormal or normal pain?’, published by Simonnet and Rivat in 2003. Morphine remains the analgesic of choice for those patients suffering moderate-to-severe pain, but it is increasingly recognized that worsening pain can be associated with chronic opioid consumption—the so-called phenomenon of opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). This paper combined knowledge from clinical studies and experimental evidence from animal research in order to delve deeper into the workings of OIH and ask whether it represented normal or abnormal pain. The authors, intrigued by evidence indicating that exogenous opioids could activate both inhibitory and facilitatory pain systems, looked to reassess the role of such enhancement in pain sensitivity. As the debate regarding the very existence of OIH rages on, we pain specialists can take comfort in the knowledge that for many before us, over a decade ago, the reality of OIH was never in question.


Author(s):  
Jacqueline K Brockhurst ◽  
Jason S Villano

The significant advances made by the global scientific community during the COVID-19 pandemic, exemplified by thedevelopment of multiple SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in less than 1 y, were made possible in part because of animal research.Historically, animals have been used to study the characterization, treatment, and prevention of most of the major infectious disease outbreaks that humans have faced. From the advent of modern ‘germ theory’ prior to the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic through the more recent Ebola and Zika virus outbreaks, research that uses animals has revealed or supported key discoveries in disease pathogenesis and therapy development, helping to save lives during crises. Here we summarize the role of animal research in past pandemic and epidemic response efforts, as well as current and future considerations for animal research in the context of infectious disease research.


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