Animal research

What are 3 ways animals are used in laboratory experiments?

Studying genes, studying the central nervous system, studying brain structure

How are animals used to study genes?

Genetic problems can cause abnormalities in humans, so animals have often been used to test the effect if particular genes in the development of abnormalities.

Example of how animals have been used in laboratory experiments?

Rats have been used in experiments on Parkinson’s disease by using drugs to stimulate the disease in rats and then using gene therapy to try and reverse the symptoms.

How are animals used to study the central nervous system?

Rats have been used in investigations of the effects of certain drugs (eg- antipsychotic medication) on the CNS as researchers can observe the changes in the synapses, the amount of synaptic transmission and the changes in brain structure/density after consuming these drugs, which could not be done with humans.

How are animals used to study brain structure?

Animals are often used in lesion studies when a part of the brain is deliberately removed or damaged (eg- the amygdala). By comparing these brain damaged animals with a control group with fully functional brains, we can try to learn which parts of the brain control which type of behaviour.

Strength of using animals for research?

Animals such as rats and mice breed quickly. This means that we can create large samples of participants and can more easily investigate the heritability of conditions (the extent to which diseases and disorders are passed from parents to children) than we can with humans.

Weakness of using animals for research?

There are considerable differences between the physiology of humans and other animals (eg- humans have a much larger cerebral cortex). This means that we cannot easily generalise the results from animals to humans as their higher executive functioning might lead to differences in behaviour exhibited.

When was The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act made?

1986

Who created The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act?

The British Psychological Society (BPS)

What is The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act?

An act ensuring research on animals is ethical. It covers all animal research and relates to any scientific procedure that may cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm to a ‘protected’ animal (all non-human vertebrates such as rats and monkeys)

What does The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act state?

That permission to perform any animal procedures will only be granted if the researcher can demonstrate that the benefit of the research outweighs the cost to the animal. The researcher must also show that consideration has been given to the three R’s.

What are the three R’s? (The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act)

Replacing, Reducing, Refining

What is ‘Replacing’? (The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act)

Replacing animals with alternatives (animals that show no signs of intelligence or self-awareness) whenever possible.

What is ‘Reducing’? (The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act)

Reducing the number of animals used

What is ‘Refining’? (The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act)

Refining procedures to minimise suffering

What are the Home Office (Government) regulations for animal research?

• Anyone carrying out research in animals is required to have a personal license, which is only given after training to ensure researchers are competent in their procedures. They are also required to seek to minimise any pain, suffering or distress.

• Any animal research project (eg- at a university) must also have a project license that states the number of spices involved and the number of animals being used. This is only granted if the researcher can demonstrate that the benefits of the project outweigh the costs.