The attempt to relieve transportation stress by controlling motion sickness in domestic animals

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23580365
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Zootechnical science/Grassland science
• Research Institution: Utsunomiya University
• Principal Investigator: AOYAMA Masato 宇都宮大学, 農学部, 准教授 (90282384)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): SUGITA Shoei 宇都宮大学, 農学部, 教授 (50154472)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 動揺病 / 悪心 / ヤギ / 輸送ストレス / シスプラチン / 嘔吐

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study investigates the existence of motion sickness, in other word, the sense of nausea, in goats. In the first experiment, the effect of the load transportation on the c-Fos protein (as a marker for the activation of the neurons) expression in the caprine brain stem was examined. Transportation increased the number of c-Fos reactive neurons in the nucleus solitary tract (NST), which is involved in the nausea and emesis in other animals. In the second experiment, the effects of administration of cisplatin (CisP: one of the anti-cancer drugs but induce strong nausea and emesis in humans and dogs) on goats were examined. The administration of CisP induced the ‘specific lying posture’, which defined as the lowered head and little movements. This behavioral response was accompanied by the remarkable increase in blood cortisol level, which indicates the strong stress. These results indicate that goats might experience nausea when they were transported or administrated with CisP.

Free Research Field

家畜行動学