Event

Nov 17, 2022
Being between Scylla and Charybdis: Designing Animal Studies in Neurosciences and Psychiatry—Too Ethical to Be Ethical?

Ethical considerations are central in designing experiments using animal models in neuroscience and psychiatry. Indeed, the treatment of laboratory animals should be done considering that animals, and particularly laboratory rodents, are sentient living beings that have needs to be fulfilled and the capacity to feel emotion, pain, and suffering. Accordingly, designing experiments using animals in neuroscience and psychiatry should follow several ethical recommendations like the three Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine) and be validated by ethical committees. However, it happens than some ethical recommendations, when applied too drastically, can result in counterintuitive non-ethical outcomes, as in the example of the reduction/power tradeoff dilemma. We will discuss the outcomes of some examples of “ethical” and “experimental” practices when designing animal studies in the neurosciences and psychiatry, and propose recommendations for improving experimental designs and more ethical uses of laboratory animals.

Address
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Boltzmannstraße 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Room
Zoom/Online Meeting Platform
Contact and Registration

The seminar series is open to all. To receive the zoom link, please email Birgitta von Mallinckrodt (OFFICEKEUCK@MPIWG-BERLIN.MPG.DE).

About This Series

This research seminar is hosted by the Bordeaux-Berlin WORKING GROUP ON TRANSLATING VALIDITY IN PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH and brings together historians, philosophers, psychiatrists, and biomedical researchers.

2022-11-17T15:00:00SAVE IN I-CAL 2022-11-17 15:00:00 2022-11-17 16:30:00 Being between Scylla and Charybdis: Designing Animal Studies in Neurosciences and Psychiatry—Too Ethical to Be Ethical? Ethical considerations are central in designing experiments using animal models in neuroscience and psychiatry. Indeed, the treatment of laboratory animals should be done considering that animals, and particularly laboratory rodents, are sentient living beings that have needs to be fulfilled and the capacity to feel emotion, pain, and suffering. Accordingly, designing experiments using animals in neuroscience and psychiatry should follow several ethical recommendations like the three Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine) and be validated by ethical committees. However, it happens than some ethical recommendations, when applied too drastically, can result in counterintuitive non-ethical outcomes, as in the example of the reduction/power tradeoff dilemma. We will discuss the outcomes of some examples of “ethical” and “experimental” practices when designing animal studies in the neurosciences and psychiatry, and propose recommendations for improving experimental designs and more ethical uses of laboratory animals. Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Boltzmannstraße 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany Zoom/Online Meeting Platform Lara KeuckSteeves Damazeux Lara KeuckSteeves Damazeux Europe/Berlin public