Flowerpot technique
The flowerpot technique is an animal testing technique used in sleep deprivation studies. It is designed to allow NREM sleep but prevent restful REM sleep. The test is usually performed with rats.
Technique[]
During sleep deprivation studies, a laboratory rat is housed in a water filled enclosure with a single small, dry platform (traditionally, an upside down flowerpot in a bucket of water, from which the technique is named) just above the water line (>1cm). While in NREM sleep, the rat retains muscle tone and can sleep on top of the platform. When the rat enters the more meaningful REM sleep, so it will lose muscle tone and fall off the platform into the water, then climb back up to avoid drowning, and reenter NREM sleep, or its nose will become submerged, shocking the rat back into an awakened state. This allows the rat to physically rest to avoid fatigue, but deprives it of REM sleep needed for normal mental function. The rat is then subjected to physical and mental tasks and its performance is compared with the performance of rested control rats.
See also[]
References[]
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (March 2015) |
- Porkka-Heiskanen, Tarja; Tuomisto, Leena; Ylinen, Markku; Stenberg, Dag (1994). "The effect of REM sleep deprivation on histamine concentrations in different brain areas". Life Sciences. Elsevier BV. 54 (22): 1719–1726. doi:10.1016/0024-3205(94)00612-1. ISSN 0024-3205. PMID 8177013.
- Sayan, Hale; Geli̇r, Ethem; Babül, Aydan (11 December 2001). "Brain Stem and Cerebral Cortex Histamine Concentrations in the Rem Sleep Deprived Rats". Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences. 31 (6): 499–502. ISSN 1300-0144.
- Rosenthal, Martha S. (Summer 1998). "Physiology and neurochemistry of sleep". American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 62.
- Animal testing techniques
- Ethically disputed research practices towards animals
- Sleeplessness and sleep deprivation