IACUC Regulation Paper

In order to make certain that the animals are treated in a humane and ethical way, researchers are regulated and monitored by various government agencies. The US Department of Agriculture is responsible for enforcing the Animal Welfare Act and conducts unannounced inspections of research facilities. If the research is a grant recipient, the National Institutes of Health would be responsible for the regulation as well. The American Association for the Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) is responsible for setting the standards for research institutions. Any institution that conducts research is required to have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) that reviews research protocol,

BibliographyBooks1.Burt, C. (1962). The concept of consciousness. British Journal of Psychology, 53, 229-2422.Carlson, N., & Buskist, W. (1997). Psychology: The science of behavior (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

department has a Deputy Commissioner who has to report to the Commissioner of the FDA.

Carter, K & Seifert, C. M. (2013) Learn psychology. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Cognitive psychology is the study of mental processes surrounding learning, memory, perception, and thought. Though it is still a relatively new formal branch of psychology, its roots extend back to Descartes who sought a way to explain how the mind worked, proposing the analogy of a “hydraulic system of nerve function” (Willingham, 2007, p. 26) after he observed animated statues in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. It has been the restless pursuit of not only the idea of how the mind works but also what exactly constituted the mind that eventually led to the foundations of cognitive theory. As psychologists examined how

Myers, David G. Exploring Psychology. 6th ed. 1 vols. New York, NY: Worth Publishers, 2005.

King, L.A. (2015). The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View. New York, NY: McGraw  Hill.

In the most general terms, psychology is the study of the mind and brain. It is a broad subject, and this course is designed to briefly touch on many areas of the scientific study of

The understanding of aspects of the human mind that was produced in twentieth century is lacking what is needed to describe and explain psychological experiences. To get a complete and full understanding of any phenomena, each perspective must be looked at collectively and not individually. I do support an integrative approach to understanding the human mind. Cacioppo and Freberg (2013, pg. 33) suggested, “merging the seven perspectives mind” as an approach to understanding the human mind. The seven perspectives of psychology are biological, evolutionary, cognitive, social, developmental, clinical, and individual perspective and personality (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2013).

The majority of the population is not aware of what actually goes on during animal research and experimentation. A lot of the times animal experimentation can be painful, brutal and unnecessary. One example would be at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1984 a small group snuck into the section of the University where head trauma was being researched. It was no ordinary research, baboons were the main subjects in many of their studies and experiments. This group was part of the Animal Liberation Front, or ALF. The Animal Liberation Front “is simply the name adopted by people acting illegally in behalf of animal rights” (PETA). Many ALF members engage in laboratory raids where

Every research laboratory is required to have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, consisting of research experts, licensed vets and members of the public. This committee is in charge of reviewing and accepting the use of animals. They are also in charge of watching the care and use of those animals by studying the laboratories, keeping track of the programs and responding to any additional concerns.

The animal study will be performed following the NIH and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) guidelines, LSUHSC. An application for the animal model and procedures used for this project have been submitted to the IACUC at LSUHSC and an approval is pending.

Going over many articles and sources, I have conducted an understanding research to help people realize the beneficially side for medical research performed on animals. Using Animals for Testing: Pro Versus Cons and Benefits of Biomedical Research are two of the several sources I used to conclude my investigation to inform people about medical research among animals. With numerous data and results, I will provide an attempt to prove why medical research should be conducted on animals.

According to the AWA, laboratories are required to have Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees, or IACUCs. These committees consist of at least three members, one of whom must be a veterinarian and another whom must be unconnected with the facility. In order to make a decision, two of the three in the group must vote in favor of the decision. Facilities have begun to take advantage of this system by hiring their own veterinarian to work for their company and employing one of the members of their facility as the third member of the committee (“Laws and Regulations”). The facility is then able to take advantage of a technicality in the AWA and make any decisions they feel necessary. This system is blatantly ineffective in regulating the experimentation of animals.

Hence, animals that are not covered under the Animal Welfare Act law do not have to be reported to the IACUC, which it’s main job in their animal protocols is to include: the number of animals used and the amount of procedures done to that animal. (“National Research Council”). In an attempt to refine laws to limit the use of animal testing, it cannot replace animal testing as a whole, but it can help relieve the number of species used. Laws should be changed to only allow animals when the other alternatives cannot be used, or the other options are not substantial enough. However, when deciding upon how many times an animal can be tested on, scientific reasons could override the ethical number. And the ethical number would be opinion based, not scientific, which would not be taken as seriously as a science based