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Creation of resin rodent skulls to reduce animal numbers for stereotactic surgery practice

Lab Animal volume 46, pages 41–42 (2017)Cite this article

Stereotactic brain surgery in laboratory rodents is an essential procedure used for various applications in neuroscience research to study neurologic function in many healthy and disease states of animal models1,2,3. This technique can be used to implant cannulas2,3,4, electrodes,1 or other devices such as optical fibers5 into specific brain regions to directly manipulate and/or record neuronal activity. Stereotactic placement of cranial implants allows neuroscience experiments in unanesthetized animals that are alert and freely behaving. Implanting devices requires immobilization of the animal in ear bars and the use of precise coordinates to allow insertion of electrodes or cannulas into specific regions of the brain without harming the animal. Furthermore, screws and dental cement are often used to secure protective headstages to the skull.

For long-term implants to be successful, lab personnel must be sufficiently trained. This procedure can be technically challenging, often leading to the euthanasia of animals from which no data will be acquired, and requires a considerable amount of practice before reliable results are achieved.

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Figure 1: Creation of resin mouse skulls.
Figure 2: Practice applications for resin skulls.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

    Megan M. Haney, Cameron Hinkel, Aaron Thiessen, Jakob Allen, Ian Deninger, Daniel Ohlhausen & Teresa Lever

Authors
  1. Megan M. Haney
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  2. Cameron Hinkel
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  3. Aaron Thiessen
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  4. Jakob Allen
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  5. Ian Deninger
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  6. Daniel Ohlhausen
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  7. Teresa Lever
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Megan M. Haney.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Haney, M., Hinkel, C., Thiessen, A. et al. Creation of resin rodent skulls to reduce animal numbers for stereotactic surgery practice. Lab Anim 46, 41–42 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.1178

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