实验动物与比较医学

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实验动物精神健康评估新视角:基于毛发特征的应激反应监测

李虹漫1(), 陈昱彤1, 石英培1, 王伊静1, 潘言1, 许童3, 周艺1, 邓其跃1, 刘雪2()()   

  1. 1.陆军军医大学基础医学院, 重庆 400038
    2.陆军军医大学生物医学工程与影像医学系, 重庆 400038
    3.陆军军医大学大坪医院, 重庆 400042
  • 出版日期:2026-01-05
  • 通讯作者: 刘雪(1981-),女,博士,副教授,研究方向:心脏骤停动物模型构建与神经损伤机制解析。E-mail: liuxue@tmmu.edu.cn。ORCID: 0000-0002-5563-5850;
  • 作者简介:李虹漫(2003-),女,本科生,研究方向:表观遗传调控与鼻咽癌。E-mail: 2293429981@qq.com
    第一联系人:李虹漫负责调查研究与初稿写作;陈昱彤、石英培、王伊静、潘言和许童参与调查研究与初稿写作;石英培、李虹漫和陈昱彤负责图表与文献整理;刘雪、邓其跃和周艺负责文章构思设计;刘雪和邓其跃负责文稿修改。
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金面上项目“颞叶联合皮层对蓝斑核的下行投射在声-警觉调控中的作用和机制”(32371050);陆军军医大学本科生科研培育项目“基于毛发状态评估实验动物压力应激水平的智能策略研究”(2023XBK10)

New Perspectives on Mental Health Assessment in Laboratory Animals: Stress Response Monitoring Based on Hair Characteristics

LI Hongman1(), CHEN Yutong1, SHI Yingpei1, WANG Yijing1, PAN Yan1, XU Tong3, ZHOU Yi1, DENG Qiyue1, LIU Xue2()()   

  1. 1.School of Basic Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
    2.Department of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Imaging, Chongqing 400038, China
    3.Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400042, China
  • Published:2026-01-05
  • Contact: LIU Xue (ORCID:0000-0002-5563-5850), E-mail: liuxue@tmmu.edu.cn;

摘要:

实验动物的精神健康管理是保障科研数据可靠性的关键环节,但因精神状态改变的隐匿性和现有评估手段的局限性,常被研究者忽略,因此需探索客观且简便易行的精神健康评估方法。压力应激作为改变动物精神状态的主要因素,可通过神经-内分泌-免疫网络影响多个研究领域的实验结果。本文首先从导致压力应激的因素、压力应激的神经机制和受压力应激影响的研究领域三方面阐明了实验动物精神健康管理的必要性,指出如能在实验开始前剔除精神不健康动物,可提高生物医学实验的效率和可重复性。其次,本文简要归纳了实验动物健康检测方法,指出行为学和代谢组学等方法在评估压力应激方面存在局限性,现有方法难以满足动物管理中简便易行、客观且非侵入性评估长期压力应激的需求。为此,本文重点聚焦于毛发作为评估压力应激的新指标,并从性状、皮质酮、蛋白质和人工智能四个方面,系统阐述其理论基础与评估方法进展,并创新性地提出及论证了将毛发性状与人工智能图像分析相结合的技术路径,为实现非侵入性、客观化的应激评估提供了新的解决方案,并为完善实验动物健康管理体系提供了理论依据。

关键词: 实验动物, 精神健康管理, 压力应激, 毛发, 人工智能

Abstract:

The mental health management of laboratory animals is a critical factor in ensuring the reliability of scientific research data. However, due to the concealed nature of mental state alterations and the limitations of current assessment methods, it is often overlooked by researchers. Therefore, there is a need to explore objective, simple and practical methods for evaluating mental health. Stress, as a primary factor altering the mental state of animals, can influence experimental results across multiple research fields through the neuro-endocrine-immune network. This paper first elucidates the necessity of mental health management in laboratory animals from three perspectives: the factors contributing to stress, the neural mechanisms of stress, and the research areas affected by stress. It highlights that excluding mentally unhealthy animals before experiments can enhance the efficiency and reproducibility of biomedical studies. Second, this paper briefly summarizes methods for assessing the health of laboratory animals, pointing out that approaches such as behavioral studies and metabolomics have limitations in evaluating stress responses. Existing methods struggle to meet the demand for simple, objective, and non-invasive assessments of chronic stress in animal management. Therefore, this paper focuses on hair as a novel indicator for assessing stress. It systematically elaborates on its theoretical basis and evaluation method advancements from four aspects: hair traits, corticosterone, proteins, and artificial intelligence (AI). It innovatively proposes and demonstrates a technical pathway combining hair trait analysis with AI-based image analysis, offering a new solution for non-invasive, objective stress assessment and providing theoretical support for improving the health management system of laboratory animals.

Key words: Laboratory animals, Mental health management, Stress, Hair, Artificial intelligence