Publications

Response to PETA attacks

Some children have negative experiences in early life, and we want to know how those experiences affect their brains and behavior so that we can identify treatments that help them lead healthy lives.

In general terms, we are attempting to understand how adverse experiences in early life can have lifelong impacts on a person. More specifically, we are learning how even mild and brief negative experiences in early life can literally change a person’s genetic makeup and as a result, influence brain development, brain function, and mental health later in life. We do this by studying prenatal environments and parenting behavior and determining how these factors impact an organism’s DNA in the form of “chemical tags” that tell our genes what to do. We then use this information to help understand the consequences of these chemical tags (or what we call epigenetic changes) on behavioral development.

We know that the rodent models we use have direct relevance for understanding human psychological conditions, because we see many of the same behavioral outcomes in our rats that people experience after exposure to negative experiences, including impacts that span generations. We study this in rodents because doing so allows us to directly examine the effects of gene- environment interactions in the brain. This of course is impossible to do in children, but the information is critical for treating people suffering the consequences of negative early life experiences.

All of our animal work is federally- and locally-regulated and overseen.

PETA’s petition and following media coverage have misrepresented the research and made false claims when in fact, and for example:

Our work at the University of Delaware focuses on the effects of mild and brief stressors. Rats are subjected to negative caregiving behaviors that actually happen in nature. The animals are not subjected to “cruelty and deprivation that cause extreme suffering”. Most of the time they experience nurturing care, and are socially housed and are provided an enriched environment that includes toys and exposure to other rats.

We also collaborate with other scientists who are interested in how negative experiences change the brain. Our primary role in these collaborations is limited to analyzing tissue samples provided by the well-respected research labs. Although we do not interact with these animals directly, their research is also subject to strict federal and local oversight. The work that we and our colleagues do has direct relevance for understanding human conditions including Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

All invasive procedures involved in our work have always been performed under proper anesthesia and pain medication to diminish pain. Furthermore, these procedures are well documented by the researchers. The “transcardial perfusion of formalin” referenced in PETA’s petition took place after treatment with proper anesthesia. Such details are rarely reported in manuscripts as no one would think of doing perfusions without administering anesthesia first, and the procedure we followed is common practice amongst scientists. Last but not least, the procedures meet all federal and local guidelines concerning animal welfare. Contrary to PETA’s claims, we have never been found in violation of any mandated standards for the humane care and treatment of our research animals. We are subjected to yearly evaluations and review of all of our procedures and records.

We have never drowned or “nearly” drowned rats in our lab. Rats are very comfortable in aquatic/semiaquatic environments. They are relatively good swimmers and naturally inhabit aquatic and semiaquatic habitats including drainage canals, sewers, and streambeds. Reports suggest some rats can swim over a mile in open water and tread water for up to three days. Thus, animal behavior labs commonly use rats in aquatic tasks to examine a variety of topics including questions related to learning and memory, animal navigation, and coping strategies. In our lab, we infrequently use aquatic tasks, but when we do, exposure to aquatic environments is relatively brief and rats are continuously monitored throughout the task to ensure their well-being. The suggestion that we drown or “nearly” drown rats in our lab is completely ridiculous.

These are not “cruel” and “wasteful experiments” that “squander resources”. We and many others think that to develop effective treatments that may alleviate the suffering of millions, it is necessary to understand the biological root cause of behavioral outcomes and psychiatric illnesses associated with adversity experienced early in life. We employ a rigorous experimental design where we have produced lots of useable and reliable data to help understand this biological root cause and how to intervene.

Our experiments are not “scientifically meaningless”. In fact, they help human children. We are already using information we have gathered from our work with rodents to inform intervention work with neglected and at-risk children in the U.S. and abroad. Our work is well respected in the scientific community and our research is referenced in college textbooks and commonly cited in in important psychology, neuroscience, and medical journals.

This information can also inform public health policy decisions aimed at prevention to promote healthy child development and mental health.