Anna Olsson

Behaviour of postnatally growth-impaired mice during malnutrition and after partial weight recovery

Abstract Objectives Early malnutrition is a highly prevalent condition in developing countries. Different rodent models of postnatal early malnutrition have been used to approach the subject experimentally, inducing early malnutrition by maternal malnutrition, temporal maternal separation, manipulation of litter size or the surgical nipple ligation to impair lactation. Studies on the behaviour of (previously) malnourished animals using animal models have produced sometimes contradictory results regarding the effects of early postnatal malnutrition and have been criticized for introducing potential confounding factors. The present paper is a first report on the behavioural effects of early malnutrition induced by an alternative approach: mice nursed by α-casein-deficient knockout dams showed a severe growth delay during early development and substantial catch-up growth after weaning when compared with animals nursed by wild-type females. Methods Established behavioural tests were used to study the consequences of early postnatal malnutrition on mouse pups at weaning and after partial weight recovery. Results Despite the impaired growth, the only behavioural difference between malnourished and normally growing animals was found in exploratory behaviour during acute malnutrition at the time of weaning. After partial catch-up in weight early protein malnourished animals showed no indication of lasting effects on general activity, emotionality and exploration, memory, and pain reactivity. Discussion These results suggest that the role of early nutrition on behavioural development after recovery in animal models may have been overestimated. Further careful examination of this animal model in terms of maternal care and offspring behaviour will be necessary to confirm if mice nursed by α-casein-deficient dams offer an alternative to existing models while eliminating potential confounding factors.

Developing welfare protocols for transgenic large animals

Abstracts from the UC Davis Transgenic Animal Research Conference XIs from the UC Davis Transgenic Animal Research Conference XI

Biotechnology and the Animal Issue

Both scientists and representatives of industry claim that important advantages can be secured through advances in biotechnology. However, the European public views new developments with caution, in particular when the applications concern animals and food. These differences in attitude cannot be explained merely in terms of differences in knowledge but also seem to be the upshot of contrasting values. One way to understand moral opinions and values is to view them against the background of so-called ethical theories. In this paper we seek to describe the theoretical foundations of different public concerns over animal biotechnology. We also discuss the extent to which the values adhered to by the public are compatible with the visions of scientists regarding applications of biotechnology and other practices involving animals. We conclude that, in general, public worries about animal biotechnology can be located in the different ethical theories with bearings on animals. However, in most cases where biote...