Behavioural Indicators of Pain and Suffering in Arthropods and Might Pain Bite Back?
Pain in response to tissue damage functions to change behaviour so that further damage is minimised whereas healing and survival are promoted. This paper focuses on the behavioural criteria that match the function to ask if pain is likely in the main taxa of arthropods. There is evidence consistent with the idea of pain in […]
Post-natal development of EEG responses to noxious stimulation in pigs (Sus scrofa) aged 1–15 days
This study examined electroencephalographic (EEG) indices of acute nociception in pigs (Sus scrofa) aged 1, 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15 days, post-natal. Ten pigs per age were anaesthetised with halothane in oxygen and maintained at a light plane of anaesthesia. EEG was recorded bilaterally using a five-electrode montage. Following a 10-min baseline period, tails […]
Evaluation of intramuscular ketoprofen and butorphanol as analgesics in chain dogfish (Scyliorhinus retifer)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20105.abs The mediation of nociception with analgesic medications has not been well documented in elasmobranchs. The purpose of this study was to determine effective analgesic doses of the opioid agonist-antagonist, butorphanol, and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, ketoprofen, in an elasmobranch. This was evaluated by repetitively assessing minimum anesthetic concentrations of the immersion anesthetic, tricaine […]
Effect of noxious stimulation upon antipredator responses and dominance status in rainbow trout
A potentially painful experience may modify normal behavioural responses. To gauge the importance of pain relative to predation or social status, we presented competing stimuli, a predator cue or an unfamiliar social group, to two groups of noxiously treated rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. In the predator cue experiment, fish were classified as bold or shy. […]
Nociception or pain in a decapod crustacean?
Nociception is the ability to perceive a noxious stimulus and react in a reflexive manner and occurs across a wide range of taxa. However, the ability to experience the associated aversive sensation and feeling, known as pain, is not widely accepted to occur in nonvertebrates. We examined the responses of a decapod crustacean, the prawn, […]
Pain experience in hermit crabs?
Pain may be inferred when the responses to a noxious stimulus are not reflexive but are traded off against other motivational requirements, the experience is remembered and the situation is avoided in the future. To investigate whether decapods feel pain we gave hermit crabs, Pagurus bernhardus, small electric shocks within their shells. Only crabs given […]
Gender differences, responsiveness and memory of a potentially painful event in hermit crabs
Nonreflexive responses to a noxious event and prolonged memory are key criteria of a pain experience. In a previous study, hermit crabs, Pagurus bernhardus, that received a small electric shock within their shell often temporarily evacuated the shell and some groomed their abdomen and/or moved away from their vital resource. Most, however, returned to the […]
Tailfin clipping, a painful procedure: Studies on Nile tilapia and common carp
The fish welfare debate is intensifying. Consequently, more research is carried out to further our knowledge on fish welfare in aquaculture. We define here a series of key parameters to substantiate an acute response to a supposedly painful stimulus: a standardized tailfin clip. Ultrastructural analysis of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) tailfin indicates the presence of […]
Fundamentals of pain perception in animals
Pain is mediated by functionally distinctive components. It may involve acute high threshold afferent stimuli (thermal, mechanical or chemically damaged tissue), protracted afferent input (long-lasting hyperalgesia) or low-threshold input (allodynia as related to pain from light touch). Behavioral patterns will be associated with the effects of noxious stimulus on excitatory transmitters. Humane studies using mechanical, […]
Selective disturbance of pain sensitivity after social isolation
The effects of social isolation or NMDA-receptor antagonists on pain sensitivity have repeatedly been described. However, the mechanisms underlying the alterations of pain perception in these models still remain a matter of debate. Thus, we aimed to determine the long-lasting effects of subchronic ketamine treatment and social isolation on the C- and Aδ-fiber-mediated nociception. Wistar […]