Animals & Ethical Statement
Forty adult female Sprague-Dawley rats (Charles River, Margate, UK) were
used in this research. All procedures involving the use of animals were
completed in accordance with the European Union Directive 2010/63/EU and
the Irish Statutory Instrument S.I. No. 543 of 2012; were sanctioned by
the Animal Care and Research Ethics Committee (ACREC) of the University
of Galway; and were carried out under Project and Individual
Authorisations issued by the Irish Health Products Regulatory Authority.
Animals were pair housed, on a 12:12 light:dark cycle, with 19-23 ◦C
temperature and 40-70% humidity. Water and food were provided ad
libitum over the course of the experiments except for 24 h before the
Corridor Test was performed in which their food ration was restricted
(to ensure they were driven to perform this food-motivated test). All
behavioural testing and post-mortem analyses were completed by a
researcher blinded to the treatment of the rats.