“We are writing to voice support for Dr. Ned Kalin’s research. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the world’s largest psychiatric association and represents more than 36,000 psychiatrists who work to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorders. An important part of our mission is to promote psychiatric research aimed at reducing the suffering of patients who are disabled from psychiatric disorders. “Research in animal models is essential to deepening our understanding of the human brain, how it works, and how alterations in brain function result in mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, PTSD, schizophrenia, and autism. Dr. Kalin and his colleagues have made significant contributions to our understanding of the brain mechanisms that lead to anxiety and depressive disorders. His work is particularly relevant to children suffering from these disabling illnesses. Dr. Kalin’s earlier work with young rhesus monkeys has revealed the …
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Letter of support from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
“We are writing in regard to the ongoing attacks by numerous entities, including the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and Ruth Dekker, MD, on the research program of Professor Ned Kalin. We are the senior leadership of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), the nation’s premier professional society in brain, behavior, and psychopharmacology research. “The purpose of this letter is to convey the position of ACNP that research using nonhuman primate animal models is essential to deepening the understanding of human health, including psychiatric disorders, and must be protected as such. Psychiatric disorders are among the most common and disabling illnesses; twenty-five percent of the population, including children, suffer from psychiatric disorders and suicide is among the leading causes of death in adults and adolescents. It is ACNP’s mission to advance the understanding of the …
Science Expeditions opens doors to UW-Madison research March 20-22
Science Expeditions, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s 13th annual science open house, will open the doors of dozens of campus attractions — and the expertise of scores of researchers — to thousands of curious visitors March 20-22.
Science Expeditions opens doors to UW-Madison research March 20-22
Science Expeditions, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s 13th annual science open house, will open the doors of dozens of campus attractions — and the expertise of scores of researchers — to thousands of curious visitors March 20-22.
Pilot study results guide changes to anxiety research
March 12, 2015 Over the last year, University of Wisconsin–Madison research into the biological underpinnings of anxiety has drawn a great deal of interest — largely due to the researcher’s plan to incorporate infant monkeys raised apart from their mothers. Results from a pilot study have led Ned Kalin, psychiatry professor and lead investigator, to a change that plan. This important study, which hopes to point out new directions for developing better treatments for mental health disorders that cause serious suffering for millions of people, will move forward at UW–Madison without separating young monkeys from their mothers. In the pilot study, outlined last year in a report to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers observed the behavior of 25 monkeys that were rejected by their mothers and raised out of necessity by human caregivers alongside other young monkeys. The researchers expected monkeys that were reared without their mothers to …
Move over Mozart: Study shows cats prefer their own beat
As more animal shelters, primate centers and zoos start to play music for their charges, it’s still not clear whether and how human music affects animals. Now, a study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that while cats ignore our music, they are highly responsive to “music” written especially for them. The study is online at Applied Animal Behaviour Science.
Laying a foundation for treating ALS, spinal cord injury
Su-Chun Zhang, a professor of neuroscience and neurology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Waisman Center, and his research team have published a unique model for learning more about the role of human astrocytes today in the Journal of Clinical In…
Learning lessons by following Madison’s foxes and coyotes
Last year, a family of foxes — complete with roly-poly kits — took up residence on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and made the city its playground. With winter in full swing, the foxes and their larger dog-like counterparts, coyotes, are out there again, roaming the wilder (and often not so wild) parts of the city and campus. This year, David Drake, a UW-Madison associate professor of forest and wildlife ecology, is welcoming the public to join him and his research team as they go out and radio collar the animals in an effort to track and better understand these urban canids.
Yin retirement closes UW–Madison sound localization lab
After nearly 40 years of distinguished teaching and research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, neuroscience professor Tom Yin has opted to retire, a decision he made more than a year ago when his National Institutes of Health grant was up for renewal.
Animal research ethics discussion to focus on UW anxiety study
Bioethicist Jeffrey Kahn and veterinary pathologist Eric Sandgren will meet on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus Thursday evening for a discussion of animal research ethics focusing on a particular program employing monkeys in the study of anxiety and depression. The event, which is free and open to the public, begins 7 p.m. Thursday in Room 1111 of the Genetics-Biotechnology Center Building, 425 Henry Mall.