It's January, and across the country millions of people have promised themselves that they will eat less, loose weight and become healthier. But why do some people eat more than others? No matter what they try there seems to be no way to stop their overeating. Public education is a powerful tool to combat some … Continue reading Guest Post: Characterising high fructose corn syrup self-administration in laboratory rats
Tag: animal models
Animal welfare inspectors clear UW-Madison cat research of PETA allegations, important hearing research continues
A second federal agency charged with oversight of animal research has completed a thorough investigation of an animal rights group's complaints about sound localization research with cats at the University of Wisconsin. Summary of the result: “there was no direct noncompliance with the PHS Policy or serious deviation from the provisions of the Guide for … Continue reading Animal welfare inspectors clear UW-Madison cat research of PETA allegations, important hearing research continues
A Closer Look at How Animal Research Progresses from Idea to Study
Unfortunately, the “how” and “why” of the research process is of much less interest, and receives far less attention, than the “what did they find?!” part of research. The latter is what you’ll see—if we’re lucky from the science outreach perspective— on television, in the science and popular media, Facebook, Twitter, and conversations world-wide. Meanwhile, … Continue reading A Closer Look at How Animal Research Progresses from Idea to Study
Bridging the gap: Monkey studies shed light on nature, nurture, and how experiences get under the skin
“Is it nature or nurture?” “How does that work? How can social experiences actually change someone’s brain?” “So early experiences matter, but how much? Is it reversible? How long does it last? Is there a way to change the course?” All of these are popular questions that I hear from students, community members, clinicians, and … Continue reading Bridging the gap: Monkey studies shed light on nature, nurture, and how experiences get under the skin
Good, bad, useful? Reflections on animal models for Parkinson’s disease research
Parkinson’s disease is a relentless, ruthless neurodegenerative disorder that often strikes in the early “golden years”, around 60 years of age, but sometimes much earlier. It progressively robs its victims of every capability that makes life enjoyable, from their ability to move, talk, eat by mouth, and in the worst cases, decreasing their cognitive abilities. … Continue reading Good, bad, useful? Reflections on animal models for Parkinson’s disease research
Animal Models of Dystonia – Part II
An invited post by Erwin Montgomery, M.D., and Michele A. Basso, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison. Based in part on some of the findings of altered learning in rodent models, a primate model of dystonia was developed. This model revealed that repetitive stimulation of fingers not normally stimulated together resulted in dystonic postures of the … Continue reading Animal Models of Dystonia – Part II
Animal Models of Dystonia – Part I
An invited post by Erwin Montgomery, M.D., and Michele A. Basso, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dystonia is a neurological disorder of movement characterized by sustained muscle contractions affecting one or more sites of the body. Dystonia frequently causes twisting and repetitive movements and abnormal postures resulting in relentless pain. If dystonia affects one part … Continue reading Animal Models of Dystonia – Part I
Predictions and Animal Models of Human Disease
Some animal activists argue human disease cannot be modeled in animals. They think physiological differences between species imply that treatments developed by means of animal research will not translate to humans. Prediction through the development of models is no doubt a goal of scientific work. Predictions are the fruits of theories that can be tested … Continue reading Predictions and Animal Models of Human Disease
Speaking of Research 