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Examplesofthevalueofanimaluseinneuroscience fromtheFENSCommitteeonAnimalsinResearch(CARE) Knowledge generated by neuroscience research using experimental animals has led to important advances in fundamental knowledge about the function of the brain and nervous system. Such knowledgeisessentialforunderstandingandtreatingneurologicalandmentalillnesses. Neurological and mental illnesses affect people throughout the life span from childhood to old age. Comparedwithmanyotherhealthproblemsmostmentalillnessdisproportionatelyaffectstheyoung. By contrast Alzheimer’s dementia has a devastating impact as people age. The impact of dementia increasesaslifespanincreasesacrosstheglobeandparticularinthemostdevelopedcountries.Not onlydosuchillnessescausesufferinganddistressbuttreatingandcaringforthoseaffectedandtheir familiescostshundredsofbillionsofEuroseveryyear1. Neuroscientistsinvestigatingbrainfunctionfrequentlyworkbothwithhealthyhumanparticipantsand withpatients.Manyneuroscientistsareactivelyinvolvedindevelopingnewmethodsandfurthering existingtechniquesforstudyingthehumanbrain.Insomecases,however,theworkcanonlybedone withanimals. Memorylossanddifficultyfindingone’swayareearlywarningsofimpendingAlzheimer’sdisease.By usingnon-invasiveneuroimagingmethodswithhumanvolunteerswenowknowthattheactivityofa particulartypeofbraincell–agridcell–iscompromisedinyoungadultsatriskofAlzheimer’s2.Such studies,however,wereonlymadepossiblebyearlierworkinratsconductedovermanyyearsthatfirst identified grid cells. The experiments with rats led to the 2014 award of a Nobel Prize to a team of researchersintheUKandNorway. Sometimesexperimentswithanimalsdonotjusthelpusunderstandwhatisgoingwronginanillness but they help develop cures and treatments. Parkinson’s disease has a devastating impact on our ability to make even the simplest of movements that most of us would normally take for granted. Implantation of electrodes into a brain structure called the sub-thalamic nucleus is an important treatment received by hundreds of thousands of people with Parkinson’s disease. The critical experiments that led to an understanding of the affected brain circuits were conducted in monkeys. ResearchersintheUSAandFrancewholedtheworkreceivedthe2014LaskerAwardthatrecognizes “majoradvancesintheunderstanding,diagnosis,treatment,andpreventionofhumandisease”. Mostanimalresearchinneuroscienceisconductedwithrodents.Somefeaturesofthehumanbrain, however, cannot be modelled well in the rodent. In such cases neuroscientists sometimes turn to othertypesofanimals,suchasmonkeys,thatsharethesefeatureswiththehumanbrain.Lessthan1% ofexperimentsareofthistype3buttheycanbeimportant.Forexample,therearesimilaritiesinthe way that the nerve pathways connect the brain to the spinal cord and the muscles in monkeys and humans. Understanding these pathways and the information they convey has been central to understanding how illnesses such as stroke affect movement. Recent research in monkeys has suggestednewwaystore-establishcontroloverastroke-affectedlimb. Neuroscientists working with animals work alongside neuroscientists investigating human brain function. Sometimes the very same individual scientist will employ computer models, human experiments,andanimalexperiments.Thedifferentapproachesarenotalternativestooneanother butallareessentialandcomplementarytooneanother.FENSsupportsresearchusinganimalswhen itiscarefullyregulated,wherealternativemethodsarenotavailableandhighwelfarestandardsare met. References 1 Gustavsson,A.etal.CostofdisordersofthebraininEurope2010.EurNeuropsychopharmacol 21,718-779,doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2011.08.008(2011). 2 Kunz, L. et al. Reduced grid-cell-like representations in adults at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease.Science350,430-433,doi:10.1126/science.aac8128(2015). 3 UKHomeOfficeStatistics2015 FederationofEuropeanNeuroscienceSocieties-11Rued’Egmont,1000-Brussels,Belgium FENSCommitteeonAnimalsinResearch(CARE)–[email protected] www.fens.org