eprintid: 10156004 rev_number: 8 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/15/60/04 datestamp: 2022-09-22 09:20:20 lastmod: 2023-09-16 06:10:07 status_changed: 2022-09-22 09:20:20 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Barkus, Chris creators_name: Bergmann, Caroline creators_name: Branco, Tiago creators_name: Carandini, Matteo creators_name: Chadderton, Paul T creators_name: Galiñanes, Gregorio L creators_name: Gilmour, Gary creators_name: Huber, Daniel creators_name: Huxter, John R creators_name: Khan, Adil G creators_name: King, Andrew J creators_name: Maravall, Miguel creators_name: O'Mahony, Tina creators_name: Ragan, C Ian creators_name: Robinson, Emma SJ creators_name: Schaefer, Andreas T creators_name: Schultz, Simon R creators_name: Sengpiel, Frank creators_name: Prescott, Mark J title: Refinements to rodent head fixation and fluid/food control for neuroscience ispublished: pub divisions: C07 divisions: D08 divisions: B02 divisions: UCL divisions: C08 divisions: G02 divisions: D09 keywords: 3Rs, Animal welfare, Head-fixation, Mice, Restraint, Water restriction note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: The use of head fixation in mice is increasingly common in research, its use having initially been restricted to the field of sensory neuroscience. Head restraint has often been combined with fluid control, rather than food restriction, to motivate behaviour, but this too is now in use for both restrained and non-restrained animals. Despite this, there is little guidance on how best to employ these techniques to optimise both scientific outcomes and animal welfare. This article summarises current practices and provides recommendations to improve animal wellbeing and data quality, based on a survey of the community, literature reviews, and the expert opinion and practical experience of an international working group convened by the UK's National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). Topics covered include head fixation surgery and post-operative care, habituation to restraint, and the use of fluid/food control to motivate performance. We also discuss some recent developments that may offer alternative ways to collect data from large numbers of behavioural trials without the need for restraint. The aim is to provide support for researchers at all levels, animal care staff, and ethics committees to refine procedures and practices in line with the refinement principle of the 3Rs. date: 2022-09-09 date_type: published publisher: Elsevier BV official_url: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2022.109705 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1977780 doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2022.109705 medium: Print-Electronic pii: S0165-0270(22)00231-X lyricists_name: Carandini, Matteo lyricists_name: Schaefer, Andreas lyricists_id: MCARA89 lyricists_id: ASCHA85 actors_name: Carandini, Matteo actors_id: MCARA89 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Journal of Neuroscience Methods volume: 381 article_number: 109705 event_location: Netherlands citation: Barkus, Chris; Bergmann, Caroline; Branco, Tiago; Carandini, Matteo; Chadderton, Paul T; Galiñanes, Gregorio L; Gilmour, Gary; ... Prescott, Mark J; + view all <#> Barkus, Chris; Bergmann, Caroline; Branco, Tiago; Carandini, Matteo; Chadderton, Paul T; Galiñanes, Gregorio L; Gilmour, Gary; Huber, Daniel; Huxter, John R; Khan, Adil G; King, Andrew J; Maravall, Miguel; O'Mahony, Tina; Ragan, C Ian; Robinson, Emma SJ; Schaefer, Andreas T; Schultz, Simon R; Sengpiel, Frank; Prescott, Mark J; - view fewer <#> (2022) Refinements to rodent head fixation and fluid/food control for neuroscience. Journal of Neuroscience Methods , 381 , Article 109705. 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2022.109705 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2022.109705>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10156004/1/PROTECT%20-%20RESEARCH%20Refinements%20to%20mouse%20high%20yield%20behavioural%20experiments.pdf