Effects of caging on the behaviour of rats in the open field

Type of content
Theses / Dissertations
Publisher's DOI/URI
Thesis discipline
Psychology
Degree name
Master of Arts
Publisher
University of Canterbury
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
English
Date
1971
Authors
Syme, Lesley Anne
Abstract

Social and spatial characteristics of the cage environment interact to influence the behaviour of rats in the open field. Caging which does not allow adequate movement may impede maturational and social development in rats, with a resultant influence on their locomotor activity in the test situation. This implies that activity measures may not always be an accurate measure of emotional reactivity, or perhaps, that emotional reactivity may not be an appropriate description of all behaviour in the open field. The results are discussed with reference to psychopharmacological and developmental research, where activity measures are often used.

This study illustrates the prevalent ignorance and naivety of many experimenters with regard to both the caging and social behaviour of laboratory rats, and discusses a number of variables whicl1 are frequently neglected in the literature.

Description
Citation
Keywords
Laboratory animals, Rats as laboratory animals
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Rights
All Rights Reserved