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IMAGE: In a recent survey of published animal studies, Randy Nelson chair of the WVU Department of Neuroscience and director of basic science research for the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute . view more
Credit: WVU Photo/Jennifer Shephard
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Imagine being woken up at 3 a.m. to navigate a corn maze, memorize 20 items on a shopping list or pass your driver s test.
According to a new analysis out of West Virginia University, that s often what it s like to be a rodent in a biomedical study. Mice and rats, which make up the vast majority of animal models, are nocturnal. Yet a survey of animal studies across eight behavioral neuroscience domains showed that most behavioral testing is conducted during the day, when the rodents would normally be at rest.