Search results for "Environmental enrichment"
showing 10 items of 22 documents
Corticosterone levels and behavioral changes induced by simultaneous exposure to chronic social stress and enriched environments in NMRI male mice
2016
Environmental enrichment (EE) is an experimental model which is believed to counteract some of the effects induced by stressors, although few studies have exposed rodents simultaneously to EE and stress. Our aim was to compare the short- and long-term effects of different housing conditions in mice submitted to chronic stress. 128 NMRI male mice arrived at our laboratory on postnatal day (PND) 21. During Phase I (PND 28), animals were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions: 1) EE+STRESS: mice housed in EE and submitted to social stress (n=32); 2) EE+NO STRESS: mice housed in EE without stress (n=32); 3) SE+STRESS: mice maintained in standard conditions (SE) and submitted to socia…
Behavioral effects of combined environmental enrichment and chronic nicotine administration in male NMRI mice
2013
Abstract Environmental enrichment (EE) is an experimental paradigm which provides sensory, social, physical and cognitive stimulation for rodents. Experimental evidence indicates that this type of housing induces different neurobiological and behavioral changes. However, few studies have evaluated the consequences of combined exposure to an enriched environment and nicotine administration during a critical period of development such as adolescence. Taking into account previous studies, it can be hypothesized that a chronic treatment with nicotine would modulate the effects of rearing animals in enriched environments. In the current study, our main aim was to evaluate the effects of EE and c…
A critical period for experience-dependent remodeling of adult-born neuron connectivity.
2015
Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the adult hippocampus is a process regulated by experience. To understand whether experience also modifies the connectivity of new neurons, we systematically investigated changes in their innervation following environmental enrichment (EE). We found that EE exposure between 2-6 weeks following neuron birth, rather than merely increasing the number of new neurons, profoundly affected their pattern of monosynaptic inputs. Both local innervation by interneurons and to even greater degree long-distance innervation by cortical neurons were markedly enhanced. Furthermore, following EE, new neurons received inputs from CA3 and CA1 inhibitory neurons that w…
Behavioral impact of experience based on environmental enrichment: Influence of age and duration of exposure in male NMRI mice
2020
Prior studies have suggested that short periods of exposure to environmental enrichment (EE) in rodents induce physiological and behavioral effects. In the present study, our aim was to evaluate if the impact of experiences based on EE could be modulated by the age of onset and the developmental period of exposure. NMRI male mice (n = 64) were exposed to EE or standard environment (SE) and behavioral changes (anxiety, exploration, memory and social interaction) were evaluated. Groups compared were: (a) SE: exposure to SE on post-natal day (PND) 28 and lasting 6 months; (b) EE-6: exposure to EE on PND 28 and lasting 6 months; (c) EE-4: exposure to EE on PND 91 and lasting 4 months; (d) EE-2:…
Decreased kynurenine pathway potentiate resilience to social defeat effect on cocaine rewa
2021
The kynurenine (KYN) pathway of tryptophan (TRP) degradation is activated by stress and inflammatory factors. It is now well established that social stress induces the activation of the immune system, with central inflammation and KYN metabolism being two of the main factors linking stress with depression. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-lasting changes in the KYN pathway induced by social defeat (SD) associated with the resilience or susceptibility to an increase in the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine. Mice were exposed to repeated SD and 3 weeks later, a conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by a subthreshold dose of cocaine (1.5 mg/kg) was developed. K…
Environmental enrichment promotes neurogenesis and changes the extracellular concentrations of glutamate and GABA in the hippocampus of aged rats.
2005
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of environmental enrichment on the neurogenesis and the extracellular concentrations of glutamate and GABA in the hippocampus of freely moving young and aged rats. Male Wistar rats of 2 (young) and 25 (old) months of age were housed during 8 weeks in an enriched environment; control rats were kept in individual plastic cages during that same period of time. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU; 40 mg/kg; 7 days) during the fourth week of the housing period to detect neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. Rats were sacrified 6 weeks after the last injection of BrdU. During the last we…
Ethanol intake in male mice exposed to social defeat: Environmental enrichment potentiates resilience
2021
Large preclinical evidence shows that exposure to social defeat (SD) increases vulnerability to drug abuse, increasing the consumption of ethanol. However, not all subjects are equally affected by the changes induced by stress. Previous reports have evidenced that the resilient phenotype to depressive-like behaviors after SD is associated with the resistant phenotype to cocaine-increased rewarding effects and the smaller neuroinflammatory response. The aim of the present study was to further clarify whether the resilient profile to depressive-like behavior also predicts a protection against the increase in ethanol intake induced by SD. The neuroinflammatory profile was studied after the end…
Enriched Environments for Rodents and their Interaction with Nicotine Administration
2012
An active lifestyle throughout the life cycle seems to delay cognitive aging and dementia and has also been evaluated as an intervention against addiction to cocaine and other drugs of abuse. In epidemiological studies with humans, it has proved difficult to separate the cognitive, social and physical components from other variables that influence lifestyle. Studies in animal models are useful for evaluating the impact of each of these factors and for uncovering the underlying mechanisms of the benefits of complex environments. Preclinical studies have employed the Environmental Enrichment paradigm (EE) which has been proposed as a preclinical model of positive life experiences in humans. E…
Individual Differences in Novelty-Seeking and Behavioral Responses to Nicotine: A Review of Animal Studies
2010
Individual differences in the behavioral responses to a novel environment have been proposed as a research tool to predict responsiveness to other behavioral tasks, response to certain events and individual vulnerability to nicotine addiction. In rats and mice, novelty seeking (defined as enhanced specific exploration of novel situations) is a complex behavior confirmed by a large body of neurochemical, endocrinological and behavioral data. We review the main standardized procedures employed to measure the novelty seeking trait in rodents and the ontogeny of this behavior throughout the life-span taking into account that novelty seeking can be permanently modified as a consequence of partic…