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How do we know if animals experience pain?
- Pain sensation
Pain sensation
Pain is the conscious sensation occurring in the brain. Researchers should try to avoid pain in animal experiments, e.g. by administering analgesic drugs. Pain sensation is the second level of pain reaction in the nervous system.
In some situations, however, it is difficult to avoid subjecting an animal to pain. Examples include research on animal models for multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, or cancer. These diseases are painful for humans, and in researching them it may be necessary to simulate the condition.
Conducting research of this type obviously requires approval from the Ethical Committee on Animal Experiments, and the disadvantages for the animals must be weighed against the advantages for humans.
A way to assess pain in animals is to measure physiological responses, e.g. blood pressure and hormone levels. Animals and humans often have similar physiological responses. Such responses are not necessarily due to pain, but could be triggered by stress, e.g. if the animal is moved from its own cage to another cage.
One way to identify whether a response is due to pain or stress is to administer an analgesic — if the animal´s physiological response is lower when the experiment is repeated it was probably a pain response.
Text: Karin Nordin
References
- Michael Axelsson, professor in zoology, Göteborgs university.
- Patricia Hedenqvist, veterinarian, Biovitrum AB
- Klas Abelson, research assistant, Uppsala university.
Responsible for content: Mats Ulfendahl, Secretary General of Medicine and health, Swedish Research Council.
Editor: Peter Tillhammar, Swedish Research Council. Contact: Send email to the editorial staff.
Editor: Peter Tillhammar, Swedish Research Council. Contact: Send email to the editorial staff.
