Which of the following is true of the use of female rodents in basic research?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Contrary to common assumptions about female rodents being inherently more variable because of their estrous cycles, empirical comparisons show that female rodents do not have greater overall hormonal or metabolic variability than males — in many measures they are equal or less variable.

1) Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Biological sex and variability: variability can arise from hormones, behavior, social hierarchy, circadian rhythms, and experimental conditions. 
- Estrous cycle: female rodents have a ~4–5 day cycle with predictable hormonal changes, but predictable periodicity does not automatically produce greater between-subject variability in most outcome measures.
- Historical research practices: males have been used more often due to an assumption of greater female variability; recent policy and meta-analytic work challenge that assumption.

2) Step-by-step reasoning
- Start with the historical belief: researchers avoided females because their estrous cycles were thought to increase data scatter. That belief underlies option c. 
- Examine empirical evidence and logic: variability must be measured across subjects and experiments. Male rodents show variability from factors such as dominance, aggression, and social stress that can produce large between-animal differences in hormones and metabolism. Female hormonal changes are regular and can be controlled or tracked; when analyzed properly, females do not show consistently higher variability. 
- Therefore the statement that their hormones and metabolism are less variable than male rodents (option b) is consistent with current understanding that female variability is not higher and can in some cases be lower.

3) Calculations
- None required for this conceptual question.

4) Why the correct answer is correct
- Option b correctly reflects the evidence overturning the myth of higher female variability: males often show comparable or greater variability due to social and physiological fluctuations.

5) Why the other options are incorrect
- a: False — females have historically been studied less often than males. 
- c: Incorrectly asserts that evidence supports greater female variability; evidence does not support this. 
- d: Unsupported generalization — susceptibility to depression-like behaviors depends on model, not a blanket greater susceptibility.

Conclusion: The correct choice is b, matching the provided answer.

Which of the following is true of the use of female rodents in basic research?Single choice

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