Do audible and ultrasonic sounds of intensities common in animal facilities affect the autonomic nervous system of rodents?

In animal facilities, noises, often poorly controlled, occur over a wide range of frequencies and intensities. Evidence demonstrates that audible noise and ultrasound have deleterious effects on rodent physiology, but it is not known how they affect the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This study exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied animal welfare science 2006, Vol.9 (3), p.179-199
Main Authors: Burwell, A.K, Baldwin, A.L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adverse effects
animal welfare
Animals
autonomic nervous system
Autonomic Nervous System - physiology
blood pressure
Blood Pressure - physiology
heart rate
Heart Rate - physiology
laboratory animals
Male
Noise - adverse effects
parasympathetic nervous system
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rats
Rats - physiology
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
sound frequency
sound intensity
sounds
ultrasonics
Ultrasonics - adverse effects
white noise
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Summary:In animal facilities, noises, often poorly controlled, occur over a wide range of frequencies and intensities. Evidence demonstrates that audible noise and ultrasound have deleterious effects on rodent physiology, but it is not known how they affect the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This study exposed 3 unrestrained, male, Sprague-Dawley rats daily to a 15-min white noise regime (90 dB), a quiet regime, or a 15-min ultrasound regime (90 dB at 4 frequencies in the range 20 to 40 kHz)-each for several weeks-and used radiotelemetry to monitor their cardiovascular responses. Exposure to audible noise increased heart rate and mean arterial pressure. Spectral analysis of HR variability showed diminished stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, shifting the sympathovagal balance. However, ultrasound, at the frequencies used, did not reproducibly affect cardiovascular parameters. The preliminary data obtained from this study indicate that audible noise, but not ultrasound (delivered using the same protocol), affects the ANS. Because the cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, and gastrointestinal systems are under autonomic control, such noise could have wide-ranging effects on animal physiology.
ISSN:1088-8705
1532-7604
DOI:10.1207/s15327604jaws0903_1