The development and use of facial grimace scales for pain measurement in animals

Jeffrey S Mogil; Daniel S J Pang; Gabrielle Guanaes Silva Dutra; Christine T Chambers

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.07.013

The development and use of facial grimace scales for pain measurement in animals

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2020 Sep:116:480-493. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.07.013. Epub 2020 Jul 16.

Authors

Jeffrey S Mogil¹, Daniel S J Pang², Gabrielle Guanaes Silva Dutra³, Christine T Chambers⁴

Affiliations

¹ Depts. of Psychology and Anesthesia, Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. Electronic address: jeffrey.mogil@mcgill.ca.
² Veterinary Clinical and Diagnostic Services, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
³ Depts. of Psychology and Anesthesia, Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁴ Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

PMID: 32682741
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.07.013

Abstract

The measurement of pain in animals is surprisingly complex, and remains a critical issue in veterinary care and biomedical research. Based on the known utility of pain measurement via facial expression in verbal and especially non-verbal human populations, "grimace scales" were first developed a decade ago for use in rodents and now exist for 10 different mammalian species. This review details the background context, historical development, features (including duration), psychometric properties, modulatory factors, and impact of animal grimace scales for pain.

Keywords: Facial expression; Grimace; Pain; Preclinical; Veterinary.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Facial Expression*
Pain Measurement
Pain*

Grants and funding

FRN154281/CIHR/Canada