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ISSN 2522-9028 (Print)
ISSN 2522-9036 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/fz

Fiziologichnyi Zhurnal

(English title: Physiological Journal)

is a scientific journal issued by the

Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Editor-in-chief: V.F. Sagach

The journal was founded in 1955 as
1955 – 1977 "Fiziolohichnyi zhurnal" (ISSN 0015 – 3311)
1978 – 1993 "Fiziologicheskii zhurnal" (ISSN 0201 – 8489)
1994 – 2016 "Fiziolohichnyi zhurnal" (ISSN 0201 – 8489)
2017 – "Fiziolohichnyi zhurnal" (ISSN 2522-9028)

Fiziol. Zh. 2025; 71(5S): 80-86

BALB/c, C57BL/6 and Wistar rats as complementary models in translational sleep research

A. O. Cherninskyi, O. V. Iegorova, V. B. Kulyk, Yu. M. Tkachenko, O. P. Maximyuk

  1. Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, NAS of Ukraine, 01024, Kyiv, 4 Bogomoletz str.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/fz71.05.080


Abstract

Choosing an appropriate rodent model is a critical prerequisite for obtaining reliable and translationally relevant data in sleep and stress research. This review compares three widely used models: BALB/c mice, C57BL/6 mice, and Wistar rats, focusing on their genetic background, systemic physiology, neurophysiological features, sleep–wake architecture, circadian rhythms, and stress- and immune-related traits. BALB/c mice are characterized by high anxiety, hyperreactive hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis responses, a Th2-skewed immune profile and altered serotonergic signaling, together with a relatively flexible circadian system and shorter endogenous free-running circadian period. These features make BALB/c a convenient model for stress-induced insomnia and circadian resilience. We argue that no single model is universally optimal: species-level differences between mice and rats exceed strain-level differences between BALB/c and C57BL/6, and these should be explicitly considered. Rational selection and, when appropriate, combined use of these models can substantially improve construct validity, reproducibility and translational impact in experimental sleep research.

Keywords: sleep, BALB/c, C57BL/6, Wistar, animal models, circadian rhythms, stress, insomnia

Full text: (PDF, in English)

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