Use of Animal Lab Experiments to Study Drugs

Question 1

Which animals tend to be used in lab experiments?

Answer 1

Animals such as mice, rats and monkeys have been used to test the physical effects of drugs on the body and on behaviour

Including long term consequences of drug use

Question 2

Why are animals used in lab experiments?

Answer 2

Used to carry out research which is not possible or permitted with human participants

Such as deliberately giving an animal a drug to see its effects

Question 3

How can results be used from animal lab experiments?

Answer 3

Results may then be generalised to humans

Used to develop effective treatments for drug addiction

Question 4

What environment are animals studied in?

Answer 4

Studied in highly controlled lab conditions

Often a group of genetically similar animals will be selected and allocated to an experimental condition or control group

Question 5

What are the ethics of using animals to study drugs?

Answer 5

Animals have different ethical guidelines

BPS published guidelines for psychologists working with animals (2012) based upon animals scientific procedure act (1986)

Researchers must follow Home Office Regulations

Question 6

What are the 3Rs in animal ethics?

Answer 6

Replace

Reduce

Refine

Question 7

What does HARDNARC refer to for animal ethics?

Answer 7

H - housing conditions
A - anaesthetics, analgesia, euthanasia 
R - reward, deprivation & aversive stimuli
D - disposing of animals 
N - number of animals
A - animal care
R - replacing the use of animals
C - choice of species

Question 8

What does the H in HARDNARC refer to in terms of animal ethics?

Answer 8

Caging must be suitable for species

Avoid distress caused by overcrowding or isolation

Social experiences of animal must be taken into account

Question 9

What does the first A in HARDNARC refer to in terms of animal ethics?

Answer 9

Anaesthetics and analgesics should be used to alleviate suffering during procedures

If pain after procedure is constant, humane killing should be undertaken

Question 10

What does the first R in HARDNARC refer to in terms of animal ethics?

Answer 10

When a study requires deprivation e.g. food the metabolic rate must be considered

Length of deprivation allowed will vary according to species and individual animal

Question 11

What does the D in HARDNARC refer to in terms of animal ethics?

Answer 11

When studies are complete, animals should either be used for breeding, companions or further studies

Question 12

What does the N in HARDNARC refer to in terms of animal ethics?

Answer 12

Use of smallest number of animals possible

Optimise research design to minimise number

Using statistics from previous research can minimise number of animals

Question 13

What does the second A in HARDNARC refer to in terms of animal ethics?

Answer 13

Animal should have suitable accommodation, food, water and space appropriate for size and specific requirements

Question 14

What does the second R in HARDNARC refer to in terms of animal ethics?

Answer 14

Instead of using animals, wherever possible use videos or computer simulations

Animals should only be used if alternatives have been considered and rejected

Question 15

What does the C in HARDNARC refer to in terms of animal ethics?

Answer 15

Species must be appropriate for the study

Level of feelings should be taken into account to minimise distress

Question 16

What is a cost-benefit analysis?

Answer 16

Benefits of the animal research must outweigh the costs of the animal

Question 17

How can Bateson’s decision cube be used in animal lab experiments?

Answer 17

Can be used to assess the rights and wrongs of animal research by considering three main criteria:

• likelihood of benefit
• quality/importance
• animal suffering

To be deemed ethical the likelihood of benefits of research conclusions should be high; quality/importance should be high and animal suffering should be low