Vytautas Baranauskas works at the animal laboratory. MF archive
The Translational Health Research Institute at Vilnius University’s (VU) Faculty of Medicine has begun a new direction of research based on sustainable and responsible experimental solutions. Crucially, it draws on animal models in a responsible and scientifically justified fashion. This makes it possible to accurately assess complex brain and body functioning mechanisms, providing the opportunity to change them, and create translational solutions significant for the clinic. Such activities are only possible when a high-quality experimental infrastructure is available.
The new animal laboratory offers these possibilities in particular. It is a modern preclinical research environment operated at the highest standards. It allows researchers to conduct consistent research that requires rigid accuracy and systemic exploration of the functional and anatomic organisation of the brain networks as well as the broader bioelectrical processes in the entire body. This creates the preconditions for the analysis of complex phenomena that in studies with humans would not be legally viable.
Researchers Gediminas Lukšys and Žilvinas Chomanskis (PhD), have played an important role from the outset. They are working in close cooperation with the coordinator of the animal laboratory, Vytautas Baranauskas. The first experiments initiated by them confirmed that the vivarium was well prepared to ensure a full cycle of preclinical research, starting with accurate data collection and method validation, through to the development of technological solutions.
According to V. Baranauskas, “advanced microclimate control, animal health monitoring, specialised care procedures, and constant veterinary care have been established at the vivarium. Such solutions allow us to ensure the highest levels of animal welfare, while also guaranteeing the reliability of research findings.”
This infrastructure offers the opportunity to start working on new avenues of research while also replicating and building on the existing methodologies. One of these is a recently published study on microstates in rats’ EEGs conducted by the Head of the Centre for Applied Neuroscience, Inga Griškova-Bulanova (PhD) and additional Czech colleagues. According to I. Griškova-Bulanova, “For the first time, this work clearly demonstrated that in the animal brain, quick and stable transitions of electrical states are present, and that they are similar to the dynamics in the human brain. This proves once again that animal models represent a reliable means for researching complex brain activities and creating clinical biomarkers with real translational value.”
The new animal laboratory allows integrated research into brain network dynamics as well as broader bioelectric changes in the entire body, thereby enabling:
- The development of accurate animal models for brain network and neuromodulation research;
- An analysis of the shifts in bioelectric processes in physiological and pathological conditions;
- The ability to test and validate new technologies for diagnostics, therapy, and neuromodulation;
- Support for the entire translational path from fundamental mechanisms to clinical innovations.
The development of this consistent research ecosystem at VU Faculty of medicine connects brain studies, body physiology analysis, and the development of medical technologies into a single integrated system that is oriented to achieving real impact on human health. The animal laboratory is becoming a space where future neuroscience and biomedical solutions can be developed.