Prather Jonathan F
Department of Zoology and Physiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Dept 3166, Laramie, WY 82071, USA.
J Avian Med Surg. 2012 Jun;26(2):76-84. doi: 10.1647/2011-030.1.
Songbirds have emerged as attractive model systems in many areas of biological research. Notably, songbirds are used in studies of the neurobiological and neuroendocrine mechanisms that shape vocal communication, and zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) are the most commonly studied species. In these studies, some form of chemical restraint is often needed to facilitate procedures and to minimize the risk of injury during handling. To determine the minimum dose of the benzodiazepine diazepam that is adequate to achieve deep sedation across individual birds, a low dose (5 mg/kg) and a high dose (10 mg/kg) was administered intramuscularly to 20 zebra finches. Results showed that a 10 mg/kg dose of diazepam resulted in deep sedation, defined by dorsal recumbency, which was achieved in minutes and lasted for several hours. Sedation was induced without complication, because no birds displayed signs of distress during sedation or lethargy after recovery, and was adequate to permit minimally invasive surgical procedures. In addition, the duration of sedation was dose dependent, which provides additional information for researchers who seek to match the depth of sedation to their experimental requirements. Finally, complete recovery from the deeply sedated state was induced by a 0.3 mg/kg dose of the antagonist flumazenil, which enabled birds to more rapidly resume homeostatic behaviors to promote well-being and survival. Together, these results indicate that diazepam is a safe and reliable sedative for use in zebra finches and support specific recommendations to achieve rapid and reliable sedation and recovery.
鸣禽已成为生物学研究许多领域中颇具吸引力的模型系统。值得注意的是，鸣禽被用于研究塑造声音交流的神经生物学和神经内分泌机制，而斑胸草雀（Taeniopygia guttata）是研究最为广泛的物种。在这些研究中，通常需要某种形式的化学约束来便于操作，并将处理过程中的受伤风险降至最低。为了确定足以使个体鸟类达到深度镇静的苯二氮䓬类药物地西泮的最小剂量，对20只斑胸草雀进行了肌肉注射，低剂量为5毫克/千克，高剂量为10毫克/千克。结果表明，10毫克/千克剂量的地西泮可导致深度镇静，表现为背部平躺，数分钟内即可达到，并持续数小时。镇静诱导过程无并发症，因为没有鸟类在镇静过程中表现出痛苦迹象，恢复后也没有嗜睡现象，且足以进行微创手术。此外，镇静持续时间呈剂量依赖性，这为试图使镇静深度与实验要求相匹配的研究人员提供了更多信息。最后，0.3毫克/千克剂量的拮抗剂氟马西尼可诱导从深度镇静状态完全恢复，使鸟类能够更快地恢复稳态行为，以促进健康和生存。总之，这些结果表明地西泮是一种用于斑胸草雀的安全可靠的镇静剂，并支持实现快速可靠的镇静和恢复的具体建议。
