EARLY STIMULATION OF RODENTS: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF PRESENT INTERPRETATIONS Journal Articles

abstract

• It is widely accepted that extra stimulation, when administered to infant laboratory rodents, has adaptive consequences. Presumed benefits are: (1) accelerated growth and development, (2) reduced emotional reactivity, (3) improved learning performance, and (4) more adaptive physiological stress responses. Levine has explained these benefits by considering such stimulation to compensate for the impoverished rearing conditions of the laboratory. However, ecological studies of the natural microhabitats of rodents suggest that laboratory conditions are over‐stimulative for the very young. The presumed benefits are reviewed and the validity or adaptiveness of each is concluded to be very questionable. The prevalent misinterpretation is attributed to an anthropocentric research orientation.

authors

• Daly, Martin

status

• published 

publication date

• August 1973

has subject area

• 1503 Business and Management (FoR)
• 1701 Psychology (FoR)
• 1702 Cognitive Sciences (FoR)
• Adaptation, Physiological (MeSH)
• Animals (MeSH)
• Animals, Laboratory (MeSH)
• Animals, Newborn (MeSH)
• Behavior, Animal (MeSH)
• Business & Management (Science Metrix)
• Cricetinae (MeSH)
• Emotions (MeSH)
• Environment (MeSH)
• Ethology (MeSH)
• Experimental Psychology (Science Metrix)
• Exploratory Behavior (MeSH)
• Handling, Psychological (MeSH)
• Learning (MeSH)
• Maternal Behavior (MeSH)
• Mice (MeSH)
• Models, Biological (MeSH)
• Models, Psychological (MeSH)
• Rats (MeSH)
• Rodentia (MeSH)
• Species Specificity (MeSH)
• Stress, Physiological (MeSH)
• Weaning (MeSH)

published in

• Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology  Journal

keywords

• Adaptation, Physiological
• Animals
• Animals, Laboratory
• Animals, Newborn
• Behavior, Animal
• Cricetinae
• Emotions
• Environment
• Ethology
• Exploratory Behavior
• Handling, Psychological
• Learning
• Maternal Behavior
• Mice
• Models, Biological
• Models, Psychological
• Rats
• Rodentia
• Species Specificity
• Stress, Physiological
• Weaning

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1973.tb01370.x

PubMed ID

• 4584330

start page

• 435

end page

• 460

volume

• 64

issue

• 3