The Behavioral Effects of Oral Psychostimulant Ingestion on a Laboratory Rat Sample: An Undergraduate Research Experience.

Presented is a lab exercise designed to augment an upper-level undergraduate class covering the topics of psychopharmacology, biopsychology, physiological psychology, or introductory neuroscience. The exercise was developed as a tool to allow students to investigate behavioral correlates of oral psychomotor stimulant ingestion and observe firsthand the benefits and challenges of using animal models to study behavior. The purpose of the exercise was to observe the unconditioned, natural behaviors of laboratory rats prior to, and following, the oral administration of commonly used, over-the-counter psychomotor stimulants, and for students to experience the process of neuroscience research.