02307nas a2200229   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260007000043653001600113653002000129653001900149653001500168653001900183100001500202700001300217700001600230700001700246245005700263490000800320520173500328022001402063       2018                            d  c06/2018bSchlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KGaHannover10achoice test10apreference test10acognitive bias10arefinement10aAnimal welfare1 aA Habedank1 aP Kahnau1 aK Diederich1 aL Lewejohann00aSeverity assessment from an animal’s point of view0 v1313 aSeverity assessment in animal experimentation is a complex biomedical and ethical  issue. While the requirements for laboratory animal science regarding assessment  of severity are getting more demanding, criteria for such an assessment  are still biased by uncertainty. The interpretation of physiological and behavioral  measures in relation to animal welfare is difficult and often reflecting an educated  gut feeling rather than scientifically sound conclusions. Here, we argue for  the importance of including the animals’ perspective into severity assessment.  Preference tests are a straightforward approach in asking the appraisal of different  goods. However, preference for one good over another does not necessarily  indicate suffering if the access to the preferred good is denied. Nor can the  overall severity of an experimental measurement be derived solely from the fact  that the animal would rather not participate in such a procedure. To gain a better  understanding of the valence of choices made, there is demand for sophisticated  tests which allow estimating the strength of the respective preferences. Animals  usually cannot choose to avoid experimental procedures and such experiences  leave traces in internal affective states. These emotion-like states can be revealed  using tests of cognitive bias, which ask the animal if future expectations are  “optimistic” or “pessimistic”. Advancing these methods on testing cognitive bias in mice allows a comprehensive severity assessment taking internal affective states  into account. The set of measures proposed here include the animal’s point of view in severity assessment with regard to their preference and valence of future  expectations.  a0005-9366