Educational effects of pharmacology practice using laboratory animals: a text mining analysis of students’ free-text responses

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

Pharmacology practice using live experimental animals deepens students' understanding of pharmacological concepts and fosters their awareness of bioethics and medical safety. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Youichirou Higashi; Takahiro Shimizu; Mio Togo; Motoaki Saito

doi:10.1254/fpj.25097

August 31, 2026Folia Pharmacologica Japonica

Educational effects of pharmacology practice using laboratory animals: a text mining analysis of students’ free-text responses

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Key Points

To evaluate the educational effectiveness and bioethical awareness fostered by animal-based pharmacology laboratory sessions using quantitative text mining of student feedback.
Analyzed voluntary free-text responses from students participating in pharmacology laboratory practicals across the 2023 and 2024 academic years at Kochi University.
Assessed student learning across three practical animal models—guinea pig intestinal motility, rat circulatory hemodynamics, and mouse central nervous system activity—using word frequency and co-occurrence network analyses.
Term frequency analysis showed pharmacology- and drug-related terms dominated student responses in both years, with mouse behavioral observations occurring most frequently as a memorable learning event.
Numerical tracking of rat blood pressure aided comprehension of drug efficacy, whereas guinea pig experiments effectively reinforced organ-level physiological mechanisms.
Co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated that observing live physiological reactions was directly linked in student reflections to pharmacological comprehension, bioethics, and medical safety awareness.

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Implication

Text mining analysis reveals enhanced pharmacological understanding and bioethical awareness among university students, highlighting the enduring pedagogical value of laboratory animal practicals.

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Higashi et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9934cf636c6408cfa7c869 https://doi.org/10.1254/fpj.25097

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Educational effects of pharmacology practice using laboratory animals: a text mining analysis of students’ free-text responses

Key Points

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Cite This Study

Educational effects of pharmacology practice using laboratory animals: a text mining analysis of students’ free-text responses

Key Points

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Implication

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