The Role of Natural Behavior in Painkillers

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A commonly used anti-inflammatory painkiller called Miloxacam seemed to work fine when tested in a standard pain assay. When the team observed mice behaving spontaneously, they noticed that certain actions, such as rearing onto the hind legs, persisted. This could explain why painkillers that seem to work in rodents have often failed in human trials. Other groups are also working on naturalistic models of pain.

Neuroscientists are creating more naturalistic experiments that they hope will provide a more nuanced understanding of animal — and human — behaviour.

These set-ups differ from the classic laboratory experiments that have been used for decades, and may help in the understanding of behaviours such as escaping a predator or finding scarce food. By studying these natural actions, scientists are hoping to glean lessons about the brain and behaviour that are more holistic and more relevant to everyday activity than ever before.

This is an audio version of our Feature: Lab mice go wild: making experiments more natural in order to decode the brain

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