Food Deprivation, Body Weight Loss and Anxiety-Related Behavior in Rats

Animals

Silke Dietze¹  Katarina R. Lees³  Heidrun Fink¹  Jan Brosda¹  Jörg-Peter Voigt³  Marina von Keyserlingk² 

[1] Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Koserstr. 20, Berlin 14195, Germany;;Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Koserstr. 20, Berlin 14195, GermanySchool of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK;

关键词: body weight;    rat;    modified open field;    elevated plus maze;    food deprivation;    welfare;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ani6010004

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Food deprivation protocols are frequently used in behavioral studies. However, there is limited evidence as to when food deprivation compromises animal welfare. Regarding the refinement of experiments involving animals, this study investigated the effects of food deprivation on body weight loss and behavior in male and female rats. Sex difference in behavior and motivational state after food deprivation is the main finding of the study. The data highlights the need for tailored pilot experiments to evaluate the impact of food deprivation on animals with regard to the 3Rs principles (replacement, reduction, refinement) in animal science.

In behavioral studies, food deprivation protocols are routinely used to initiate or maintain motivational states that are required in a particular test situation. However, there is limited evidence as to when food deprivation compromises animal welfare. This study investigated the effects of different lengths of food deprivation periods and restricted (fixed-time) feeding on body weight loss as well as anxiety-related and motivated behavior in 5–6 month old male and female Wistar rats. The observed body weight loss was not influenced by sex and ranged between 4% (16 h deprivation) to approximately 9% (fixed-time feeding). Despite significant body weight loss in all groups, the motivation to eat under the aversive test conditions of the modified open field test increased only after 48 h of food deprivation. Long-lasting effects on anxiety as measured in the elevated plus maze test 24 h after refeeding have not been observed, although fixed-time feeding could possibly lead to a lasting anxiogenic effect in female rats. Overall, female rats showed a more anxiolytic profile in both tests when compared to male rats. Despite these sex differences, results suggest that food deprivation is not always paralleled by an increased motivation to feed in a conflict situation. This is an important finding as it highlights the need for tailored pilot experiments to evaluate the impact of food deprivation protocols on animals in regard to the principles of the 3Rs introduced by Russell and Burch.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.