Environmental Enrichment (environmental + enrichment)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Effect of Environmental Enrichment on Stress Related Systems in Rats

JOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 5 2004
F. Moncek
Abstract The aim of this study was to test whether environmental enrichment alters the status and responsiveness of pituitary-adrenocortical and sympathetic-adrenomedullary hormones in rats. Previous studies have shown that rats kept in an enriched environment differ from those kept in standard cages in dendritic branching, synaptogenesis, memory function, emotionality and behaviour. In male Wistar rats kept in an enriched environment for 40 days, we studied basal concentrations of hormones, endocrine responses to 5-HT1A challenge and responsiveness and adaptation to repeated handling. Environmental enrichment consisted of large plexiglass cages with 10 rats per cage, which contained variety of objects exchanged three times a week. Rats kept in this enriched environment had higher resting plasma concentrations of corticosterone, larger adrenals and increased corticosterone release to buspirone challenge compared to controls. Lower adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone and adrenaline responses to handling were noticed in rats kept in an enriched environment. Exposure to repeated handling led to a more rapid extinction of corticosterone responses in rats kept in an enriched environment. Thus, environmental enrichment leads to pronounced changes in neuroendocrine regulation, including larger adrenals and increased adrenocortical function, which are so far considered to be indication of chronic stress. [source]


Altered motor activity, exploration and anxiety in heterozygous neuregulin 1 mutant mice: implications for understanding schizophrenia

GENES, BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, Issue 7 2007
T. Karl
Human genetic studies have shown that neuregulin 1 (NRG1) is a potential susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. Nrg1 influences various neurodevelopmental processes, which are potentially related to schizophrenia. The neurodevelopmental theory of schizophrenia suggests that interactions between genetic and environmental factors are responsible for biochemical alterations leading to schizophrenia. To investigate these interactions and to match experimental design with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, we applied a comprehensive behavioural phenotyping strategy for motor activity, exploration and anxiety in a heterozygous Nrg1 transmembrane domain mutant mouse model (Nrg1 HET) using different housing conditions and age groups. We observed a locomotion- and exploration-related hyperactive phenotype in Nrg1 HETs. Increased age had a locomotion- and exploration-inhibiting effect, which was significantly attenuated in mutant mice. Environmental enrichment (EE) had a stimulating influence on locomotion and exploration. The impact of EE was more pronounced in Nrg1 hypomorphs. Our study also showed a moderate task-specific anxiolytic-like phenotype for Nrg1 HETs, which was influenced by external factors. The behavioural phenotype detected in heterozygous Nrg1 mutant mice is not specific to schizophrenia per se, but the increased sensitivity of mutant mice to exogenous factors is consistent with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and the neurodevelopmental theory. Our findings reinforce the importance of carefully controlling experimental designs for external factors and of comprehensive, integrative phenotyping strategies. Thus, Nrg1 HETs may, in combination with other genetic and drug models, help to clarify pathophysiological mechanisms behind schizophrenia. [source]


Handling and environmental enrichment do not rescue learning and memory impairments in ,CamKIIT286A mutant mice

GENES, BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, Issue 3 2003
A. C. Need
Environmental enrichment and postnatal handling have been shown to improve learning and memory in the Morris water maze, and to rescue impairments caused by genetic modification, age or genetic background. Mice with a targeted point mutation that prevents autophosphorylation at threonine-286 of the ,-isoform of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II have impaired hippocampus-dependent and -independent strategy learning and memory in the water maze. We have investigated whether these impairments can be rescued with a combination of postnatal handling and environmental enrichment in a hybrid genetic background. Severe impairments were seen in acquisition and probe trials in both enriched and nonenriched mutants, indicating that enrichment did not rescue the learning and memory impairments. However, enrichment did rescue a specific performance deficit; enhanced floating behaviour, in the mutants. In summary, we have shown the lack of autophosphorylation of the ,-isoform of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II prevents enrichment-induced rescues of strategy learning and memory impairments. Furthermore, we have established that there are enrichment mechanisms that are independent of this autophosphorylation. [source]


Environmental enrichment: past, present and future

INTERNATIONAL ZOO YEARBOOK, Issue 1 2003
D. J. SHEPHERDSON
Intereat and activity in the field of environmental enrichment have blossomed over the last decade, and the sophistication and utility of the concepts underlying enrichment have grown correspondingly. Combined with the enthusiasm of animal keepers, this has resulted in demonstrable improvements to the welfare of zoo animals. The next step is for enrichment to be incorporated systematically into the husbandry programmes of all zoos and aquariums, and this is beginning to happen. Detailed systematic studies utilizing large sample sizes are needed to test and refine hypotheses in order to ensure that enrichment activities continue to be effective in the future. [source]


Effect of aging on neurogenesis in the canine brain

AGING CELL, Issue 3 2008
Anton Pekcec
Summary An age-dependent decline in hippocampal neurogenesis has been reported in laboratory rodents. Environmental enrichment proved to be a strong trigger of neurogenesis in young and aged laboratory rodents, which are generally kept in facilities with a paucity of environmental stimuli. These data raise the question whether an age-dependent decline in hippocampal cell proliferation and neurogenesis can also be observed in individuals exposed to diversified and varying surroundings. Therefore, we determined rates of canine hippocampal neurogenesis using post-mortem tissue from 37 nonlaboratory dogs that were exposed to a variety of environmental conditions throughout their life. Expression of the neuronal progenitor cell marker doublecortin clearly correlated with age. The analysis of doublecortin-labeled cells in dogs aged > 133 months indicated a 96% drop in the aged canine brain as compared to young adults. Expression of the proliferation marker Ki-67 in the subgranular zone decreased until dogs were aged 85,132 months. In the aging canine brain amyloid-beta peptide deposits have been described that might resemble an early pathophysiological change in the course of human Alzheimer's disease. Comparison of Ki-67 and doublecortin expression in canine brain tissue with or without diffuse plaques revealed no differences. The data indicate that occurrence of diffuse plaques in the aging brain is not sufficient to trigger enhanced proliferation or enhanced neurogenesis such as described in human Alzheimer's disease. In addition, this study gives first proof that an age-dependent decline also dominates hippocampal neurogenesis rates in individuals living in diversified environments. [source]


Environmental enrichment and prior experience of live prey improve foraging behaviour in hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 2003
C. Brown
Atlantic salmon salmo salar L. parr were reared for 3 months under standard hatchery conditions or in a structurally enriched tank (containing plants, rocks and novel objects). Half of each of these fish had prior exposure to live prey in the form of live bloodworm while the other half were fed hatchery-pellets. After 12 days all fish were tested on a novel live prey item (brine shrimp). A significant interaction between the two factors (prior exposure to live prey and rearing condition) revealed that foraging performance was only enhanced in fish that had been reared in a complex environment and exposed to live prey. It appears that the ability to generalize from one live prey type to another is only enhanced in fish that had been reared in an enriched environment. The findings support the assertion that the provision of enriched environments in combination with exposure to live prey prior to release may significantly improve the post-release survival rates of hatchery-reared fishes. As both the environmental enrichment and the prior foraging experience procedures were comparatively simple, the provision of such pre-release experiences are likely to prove cost effective to hatcheries. [source]


Effect of Environmental Enrichment on Stress Related Systems in Rats

JOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 5 2004
F. Moncek
Abstract The aim of this study was to test whether environmental enrichment alters the status and responsiveness of pituitary-adrenocortical and sympathetic-adrenomedullary hormones in rats. Previous studies have shown that rats kept in an enriched environment differ from those kept in standard cages in dendritic branching, synaptogenesis, memory function, emotionality and behaviour. In male Wistar rats kept in an enriched environment for 40 days, we studied basal concentrations of hormones, endocrine responses to 5-HT1A challenge and responsiveness and adaptation to repeated handling. Environmental enrichment consisted of large plexiglass cages with 10 rats per cage, which contained variety of objects exchanged three times a week. Rats kept in this enriched environment had higher resting plasma concentrations of corticosterone, larger adrenals and increased corticosterone release to buspirone challenge compared to controls. Lower adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone and adrenaline responses to handling were noticed in rats kept in an enriched environment. Exposure to repeated handling led to a more rapid extinction of corticosterone responses in rats kept in an enriched environment. Thus, environmental enrichment leads to pronounced changes in neuroendocrine regulation, including larger adrenals and increased adrenocortical function, which are so far considered to be indication of chronic stress. [source]


Environmental enrichment stimulates progenitor cell proliferation in the amygdala

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 16 2009
Hiroaki Okuda
Abstract Enriched environments enhance hippocampal neurogenesis, synaptic efficacy, and learning and memory functions. Recent studies have demonstrated that enriched environments can restore learning behavior and long-term memory after significant brain atrophy and neural loss. Emotional and anxiety-related behaviors were also improved by enriched stimuli, but the effect of enriched environments on the amygdala, one of the major emotion-related structures in the central nervous system, remains largely unknown. In this study, we have focused on the effects of an enriched environment on cell proliferation and differentiation in the murine amygdala. The enriched environment increased bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-positive (newborn) cell numbers in the amygdala, almost all of which, immediately after a 1-week period of enrichment, expressed the oligodendrocyte progenitor marker Olig2. Furthermore, enriched stimuli significantly suppressed cell death in the amygdala. Some of the BrdU-positive cells in mice exposed to the enriched environment, but none in animals housed in the standard environment, later differentiated into astrocytes. Our findings, taken together with previous behavioral studies, suggest that progenitor proliferation and differentiation in the amygdala may contribute to the beneficial aspects of environmental enrichment such as anxiolytic effects. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Environmental enrichment reverses cognitive and molecular deficits induced by developmental lead exposure

ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 1 2003
Tomás R. Guilarte PhD
Long-term deficits in cognitive function are the principal effects of lead (Pb2+) exposure in children and can be modeled in experimental animals. Current therapeutic approaches in the treatment of childhood Pb2+ intoxication are not effective in reversing learning deficits once they have occurred. We report that environmental enrichment reverses long-term deficits in spatial learning produced by developmental Pb2+ exposure in rats. Enhanced learning performance of Pb2+ -exposed animals reared in an enriched environment was associated with recovery of deficits in N- methyl- D -aspartate receptor subunit 1 (NR1) mRNA and induction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA in the hippocampus. The effect of environmental enrichment on NR1 and BDNF gene expression was specific to Pb2+ -exposed animals and was present in the absence of changes in the NR2B subunit of the N- methyl- D -aspartate receptor, GluR1, ,CamKII, or PSD-95 gene expression measured in the same animals. Our findings demonstrate that the learning impairments and NR1 subunit mRNA deficits resulting from developmental Pb2+ exposure are reversible if the animals are provided with an enriched environment even after the exposure has occurred. We propose environmental enrichment as a basis for the treatment of childhood Pb2+ intoxication. [source]


The influence of natural variations in maternal care on play fighting in the rat

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 8 2008
Carine I. Parent
Abstract Naturally occurring variations in maternal care in the rat influence the sensitivity of offspring to stress in adulthood. The offspring of mothers that show lower levels of pup licking/grooming (i.e., low-LG mothers) demonstrate enhanced responses to stress and increased anxiety compared to those of high-LG mothers. Low-LG offspring are also more sensitive to the influence of environmental enrichment than high-LG offspring. This study examined play fighting in the juvenile offspring of high-LG and low-LG dams in a multiple-play partners housing environment. Male offspring from low-LG dams demonstrated a significantly higher frequency of pouncing, pinning and aggressive social grooming than did high-LG males and high-LG and low-LG females. Consistent with earlier reports, male pups engaged in more play fighting than did females and maternal care was associated with differences in play fighting but only in males. Lower levels of stimulation in the form of LG from the dam during perinatal development may thus increase sensitivity for the stimulating effects of play behavior in periadolescence, in part explaining the increased solicitation of play fighting through increased pouncing in the male offspring of the low-LG mothers. These findings identify a possible influence of variations in maternal care on play fighting and suggest that maternal care in the perinatal period influence social interactions during periadolescence. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 50: 767,776, 2008 [source]


Environmental impoverishment and aging alter object recognition, spatial learning, and dentate gyrus astrocytes

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 3 2010
Daniel G. Diniz
Abstract Environmental and age-related effects on learning and memory were analysed and compared with changes observed in astrocyte laminar distribution in the dentate gyrus. Aged (20 months) and young (6 months) adult female albino Swiss mice were housed from weaning either in impoverished conditions or in enriched conditions, and tested for episodic-like and water maze spatial memories. After these behavioral tests, brain hippocampal sections were immunolabeled for glial fibrillary acid protein to identify astrocytes. The effects of environmental enrichment on episodic-like memory were not dependent on age, and may protect water maze spatial learning and memory from declines induced by aging or impoverished environment. In the dentate gyrus, the number of astrocytes increased with both aging and enriched environment in the molecular layer, increased only with aging in the polymorphic layer, and was unchanged in the granular layer. We suggest that long-term experience-induced glial plasticity by enriched environment may represent at least part of the circuitry groundwork for improvements in behavioral performance in the aged mice brain. [source]


Postnatal handling alters the activation of stress-related neuronal circuitries

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 8 2000
István M. Ábrahám
Abstract Postnatal handling, as a crucial early life experience, plays an essential role in the development of hypothalamo-pituitary,adrenal axis responses to stress. The impact of postnatal handling on the reactivity of stress-related neuronal circuitries was investigated in animals that were handled for the first 21 days of life and as adults they were exposed to physical (ether) or emotional (restraint) challenge. To assess neuronal activation we relied on the induction of immediate-early gene product c-Fos and analysed its spatial and temporal distribution at various time intervals after stress. Ether and restraint commonly activated parvocellular neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, and resulted in activation of brain areas providing stress-related information to the hypothalamic effector neurons and/or in regions governing autonomic and behavioural responses to stress. Beyond these areas, the strength and timing of c-Fos induction showed stressor specificity in olfactory and septal region, basal ganglia, hypothalamus, hippocampal formation, amygdala and brainstem. Handled rats displayed a lower number of c-Fos-positive cell nuclei and weaker staining intensity than non-handled controls in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, bed nucleus of stria terminalis, central nucleus of amygdala, hippocampus, piriform cortex and posterior division of the cingulum. Significant differences were revealed in timing of c-Fos induction as a function of stressor and early life experience. Together, these data provide functional anatomical evidence that environmental enrichment in the early postnatal period attenuates the reactivity of stress-related neuronal circuitries in the adult rat brain. [source]


The future of stock enhancements: lessons for hatchery practice from conservation biology

FISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 2 2002
Culum Brown
Abstract The world's fish species are under threat from habitat degradation and over-exploitation. In many instances, attempts to bolster stocks have been made by rearing fish in hatcheries and releasing them into the wild. Fisheries restocking programmes have primarily headed these attempts. However, a substantial number of endangered species recovery programmes also rely on the release of hatchery-reared individuals to ensure long-term population viability. Fisheries scientists have known about the behavioural deficits displayed by hatchery-reared fish and the resultant poor survival rates in the wild for over a century. Whilst there remain considerable gaps in our knowledge about the exact causes of post-release mortality, or their relative contributions, it is clear that significant improvements could be made by rethinking the ways in which hatchery fish are reared, prepared for release and eventually liberated. We emphasize that the focus of fisheries research must now shift from husbandry to improving post-release behavioural performance. In this paper we take a leaf out of the conservation biology literature, paying particular attention to the recent developments in reintroduction biology. Conservation reintroduction techniques including environmental enrichment, life-skills training, and soft release protocols are reviewed and we reflect on their application to fisheries restocking programmes. It emerges that many of the methods examined could be implemented by hatcheries with relative ease and could potentially provide large increases in the probability of survival of hatchery-reared fish. Several of the necessary measures need not be time-consuming or expensive and many could be applied at the hatchery level without any further experimentation. [source]


Handling and environmental enrichment do not rescue learning and memory impairments in ,CamKIIT286A mutant mice

GENES, BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, Issue 3 2003
A. C. Need
Environmental enrichment and postnatal handling have been shown to improve learning and memory in the Morris water maze, and to rescue impairments caused by genetic modification, age or genetic background. Mice with a targeted point mutation that prevents autophosphorylation at threonine-286 of the ,-isoform of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II have impaired hippocampus-dependent and -independent strategy learning and memory in the water maze. We have investigated whether these impairments can be rescued with a combination of postnatal handling and environmental enrichment in a hybrid genetic background. Severe impairments were seen in acquisition and probe trials in both enriched and nonenriched mutants, indicating that enrichment did not rescue the learning and memory impairments. However, enrichment did rescue a specific performance deficit; enhanced floating behaviour, in the mutants. In summary, we have shown the lack of autophosphorylation of the ,-isoform of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II prevents enrichment-induced rescues of strategy learning and memory impairments. Furthermore, we have established that there are enrichment mechanisms that are independent of this autophosphorylation. [source]


Age effects on the regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis by physical activity and environmental enrichment in the APP23 mouse model of Alzheimer disease

HIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 10 2009
Sebastian Mirochnic
Abstract An active lifestyle is to some degree protective against Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the biological basis for this benefit is still far from clear. We hypothesize that physical and cognitive activity increase a reserve for plasticity by increasing adult neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG). We thus assessed how age affects the response to activity in the murine APP23 model of AD compared with wild type (WT) controls and studied the effects of physical exercise (RUN) and environmental enrichment (ENR) in comparison with standard housing (CTR) at two different ages (6 months and 18 months) and in both genotypes. At 18 months, both activity paradigms reduced the hippocampal human A,1-42/A,1-40 ratio when compared with CTR, despite a stable plaque load in the hippocampus. At this age, both RUN and ENR increased the number of newborn granule cells in the DG of APP23 mice when compared with CTR, whereas the levels of regulation were equivalent to those in WT mice under the same housing conditions. At 6 months, however, neurogenesis in ENR but not RUN mice responded like the WT. Quantifying the number of cells at the doublecortin-positive stage in relation to the number of cells on postmitotic stages we found that ENR overproportionally increased the number of the DCX-positive "late" progenitor cells, indicative of an increased potential to recruit even more new neurons. In summary, the biological substrates for activity-dependent regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis were preserved in the APP23 mice. We thus propose that in this model, ENR even more than RUN might contribute to a "neurogenic reserve" despite a stable plaque load and that age affects the outcome of an interaction based on "activity." © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Long-term treadmill exposure protects against age-related neurodegenerative change in the rat hippocampus

HIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 10 2009
Rachel M. O'Callaghan
Abstract The potential of exercise or environmental enrichment to prevent or reverse age-related cognitive decline in rats has been widely investigated. The data suggest that the efficacy of these interventions as neuroprotectants may depend upon the duration and nature of the protocols and age of onset. Investigations of the mechanisms underlying these neuroprotective strategies indicate a potential role for the neurotrophin family of proteins, including nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In this study, we have assessed the effects of 8 months of forced exercise, begun in middle-age, on the expression of long-term potentiation (LTP) and on spatial learning in the Morris water maze in aged Wistar rats. We also assessed these measures in a cage control group and in a group of rats exposed to the stationary treadmill for the same duration as the exercised rats. Our data confirm an age-related decline in expression of LTP and in spatial learning concomitant with decreased expression of NGF and BDNF mRNA in dentate gyrus (DG). The age-related impairments in both plasticity and growth factor expression were prevented in the long-term exercised group and, surprisingly, the treadmill control group. Given the extensive handling that the treadmill control group received and their regular exposure to an environment outside the home cage, this group can be considered to have experienced environmentally enriched conditions when compared with the cage control group. Significant correlations were observed between both learning and LTP and the expression of NGF and BDNF mRNA in the dentate gyrus. We conclude that decreased expression of NGF and BDNF in the dentate gyrus of aged rats is associated with impaired LTP and spatial learning. We suggest that the reversal of these age-related impairments by enrichment and exercise may be linked with prevention of the age-related decline in expression of these growth factors and, furthermore, that enrichment is as efficacious as exercise in preventing this age-related decline. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Environmental enrichment: past, present and future

INTERNATIONAL ZOO YEARBOOK, Issue 1 2003
D. J. SHEPHERDSON
Intereat and activity in the field of environmental enrichment have blossomed over the last decade, and the sophistication and utility of the concepts underlying enrichment have grown correspondingly. Combined with the enthusiasm of animal keepers, this has resulted in demonstrable improvements to the welfare of zoo animals. The next step is for enrichment to be incorporated systematically into the husbandry programmes of all zoos and aquariums, and this is beginning to happen. Detailed systematic studies utilizing large sample sizes are needed to test and refine hypotheses in order to ensure that enrichment activities continue to be effective in the future. [source]


Reactions of nomadic and resident parrot species

INTERNATIONAL ZOO YEARBOOK, Issue 1 2000
C. METTKE-HOFMANN
The exploratory behaviour of six species of lorikeet (Loriini) and four species of broad-tailed parrot (Platycercini), which differ in their migratory behaviour, was tested to investigate whether residents and nomads show different reactions to environmental enrichment. For each species, seven pairs of birds were tested in a familiar aviary. The test was performed on 2 days, separated by a resting period of 2 days. Three unknown objects were brought into the aviary for 24 hours on day 1 and 6 hours on day 2. The results showed that more resident birds contacted the objects than nomadic birds and that residents showed shorter latencies until first contact than nomads. No differences between groups occurred in the duration of exploration but there was a positive correlation between duration of exploration and the tendency of the species to exhibit plucking behaviour. The results suggest that object presentation is a useful tool in supporting activity in resident as well as nomadic Psittacidae. [source]


Restoring depleted coral-reef fish populations through recruitment enhancement: a proof of concept

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2009
A. Heenan
To determine whether enhancing the survival of new recruits is a sensible target for the restorative management of depleted coral-reef fish populations, settlement-stage ambon damsel fish Pomacentrus amboinensis were captured, tagged and then either released immediately onto small artificial reefs or held in aquaria for 1 week prior to release. Holding conditions were varied to determine whether they affected survival of fish: half the fish were held in bare tanks (non-enriched) and the other half in tanks containing coral and sand (enriched). Holding fish for this short period had a significantly positive effect on survivorship relative to the settlement-stage treatment group that were released immediately. The enrichment of holding conditions made no appreciable difference on the survival of fish once released onto the reef. It did, however, have a positive effect on the survival of fish while in captivity, thus supporting the case for the provision of simple environmental enrichment in fish husbandry. Collecting and holding settlement-stage fish for at least a week before release appear to increase the short-term survival of released fish; whether it is an effective method for longer-term enhancement of locally depleted coral-reef fish populations will require further study. [source]


Environmental enrichment and prior experience of live prey improve foraging behaviour in hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 2003
C. Brown
Atlantic salmon salmo salar L. parr were reared for 3 months under standard hatchery conditions or in a structurally enriched tank (containing plants, rocks and novel objects). Half of each of these fish had prior exposure to live prey in the form of live bloodworm while the other half were fed hatchery-pellets. After 12 days all fish were tested on a novel live prey item (brine shrimp). A significant interaction between the two factors (prior exposure to live prey and rearing condition) revealed that foraging performance was only enhanced in fish that had been reared in a complex environment and exposed to live prey. It appears that the ability to generalize from one live prey type to another is only enhanced in fish that had been reared in an enriched environment. The findings support the assertion that the provision of enriched environments in combination with exposure to live prey prior to release may significantly improve the post-release survival rates of hatchery-reared fishes. As both the environmental enrichment and the prior foraging experience procedures were comparatively simple, the provision of such pre-release experiences are likely to prove cost effective to hatcheries. [source]


The Effect of Feeding Enrichment upon Reported Working Ability and Behavior of Kenneled Working Dogs

JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 6 2008
Samantha A. Gaines Ph.D.
Abstract:, It is widely recommended that kenneled dogs are provided with environmental enrichment such as toys or feeding devices. However, the adoption of enrichment for military working dogs is impeded by a widespread belief that it reduces their motivation to work. Handlers of 22 working German Shepherd dogs were asked to rate their dogs on 11 attributes pertaining to working ability, related behavioral traits, and health. Eight of the dogs were then provided with daily feeding enrichment for 4 months, while the remainder were given equivalent human attention. The same 11 traits were scored again following the enrichment period: 10 changed little over the period while handlers' reports of their dogs'Ability to learn from being rewarded increased significantly. Changes for all attributes were virtually identical in enriched and control dogs. We conclude that if correctly managed, feeding enrichment can be introduced to kenneled working dogs without any reported detrimental effects upon working ability, health, or behavior. [source]


Effect of Environmental Enrichment on Stress Related Systems in Rats

JOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 5 2004
F. Moncek
Abstract The aim of this study was to test whether environmental enrichment alters the status and responsiveness of pituitary-adrenocortical and sympathetic-adrenomedullary hormones in rats. Previous studies have shown that rats kept in an enriched environment differ from those kept in standard cages in dendritic branching, synaptogenesis, memory function, emotionality and behaviour. In male Wistar rats kept in an enriched environment for 40 days, we studied basal concentrations of hormones, endocrine responses to 5-HT1A challenge and responsiveness and adaptation to repeated handling. Environmental enrichment consisted of large plexiglass cages with 10 rats per cage, which contained variety of objects exchanged three times a week. Rats kept in this enriched environment had higher resting plasma concentrations of corticosterone, larger adrenals and increased corticosterone release to buspirone challenge compared to controls. Lower adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone and adrenaline responses to handling were noticed in rats kept in an enriched environment. Exposure to repeated handling led to a more rapid extinction of corticosterone responses in rats kept in an enriched environment. Thus, environmental enrichment leads to pronounced changes in neuroendocrine regulation, including larger adrenals and increased adrenocortical function, which are so far considered to be indication of chronic stress. [source]


Environmental enrichment stimulates progenitor cell proliferation in the amygdala

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 16 2009
Hiroaki Okuda
Abstract Enriched environments enhance hippocampal neurogenesis, synaptic efficacy, and learning and memory functions. Recent studies have demonstrated that enriched environments can restore learning behavior and long-term memory after significant brain atrophy and neural loss. Emotional and anxiety-related behaviors were also improved by enriched stimuli, but the effect of enriched environments on the amygdala, one of the major emotion-related structures in the central nervous system, remains largely unknown. In this study, we have focused on the effects of an enriched environment on cell proliferation and differentiation in the murine amygdala. The enriched environment increased bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-positive (newborn) cell numbers in the amygdala, almost all of which, immediately after a 1-week period of enrichment, expressed the oligodendrocyte progenitor marker Olig2. Furthermore, enriched stimuli significantly suppressed cell death in the amygdala. Some of the BrdU-positive cells in mice exposed to the enriched environment, but none in animals housed in the standard environment, later differentiated into astrocytes. Our findings, taken together with previous behavioral studies, suggest that progenitor proliferation and differentiation in the amygdala may contribute to the beneficial aspects of environmental enrichment such as anxiolytic effects. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Welfare, performance and meat quality of fattening pigs in alternative housing and management systems: a review

JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 5 2005
Sam Millet
Abstract Conventional husbandry systems for pork production are scrutinized by members of the general public as well as the scientific community. As a response, alternative forms of pig production, such as outdoor housing, organic farming and environmental enrichment are gaining interest. The question arises whether these production systems are indeed able to improve the welfare and health status of the animals, and whether these production systems alter production characteristics and meat or carcass traits. Measures of poor welfare have been described, but evaluating overall welfare is difficult. Certain parameters of alternative housing will improve welfare in some ways but, simultaneously, other welfare problems are inflated, and the weighting of each of these problems is very subjective. Alternative housing systems allow pigs to display species-specific behaviour and decrease the occurrence of abnormal behaviours by acting on several parameters: indoor versus outdoor housing, floor space/density, floor type, and provision of bedding or other types of environmental enrichment. Evaluating alternative housing systems should be done by looking at all the welfare-improving factors and the cost of alleviating welfare-decreasing problems in a given production system. Data in the literature on growth, meat and carcass traits in alternative production systems, are inconsistent, indicating that other factors can play an important role. However, as equal, or in some cases even better, performance can be attained in certain production systems that meet concerns of animal welfare scientists and members of the general public, alternative production forms may be considered preferable. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


Survey of environmental enhancement programs for laboratory primates

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
Kate C. Baker
Abstract Animal welfare regulations in the United States require that nonhuman primate environmental enhancement plans be made in accordance with currently accepted professional standards; however, little information is available for quantifying common practice. Here we report the results of a 2003 survey that was sent to individuals overseeing enrichment programs at a variety of primate research institutions. The surveys requested information on program administration and management, implementation standards, procedures, and constraints pertaining to major categories of environmental enrichment, as well as intervention plans for animals exhibiting behavioral pathologies. Data were obtained on the management of 35,863 primates in 22 facilities. Behavioral scientists performed program oversight at the majority of facilities. Most programs reported recent changes, most commonly due to external site visits, and least commonly resulting from internal review. Most facilities' institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) included of individuals with behavioral expertise, and about two-thirds reported that enrichment issues could influence research protocol design. While most primates were reported to be housed socially (73%), social housing for indoor-housed primates appears to have changed little over the past 10 years. Research protocol issues and social incompatibility were commonly cited constraints. Implementation of feeding, manipulanda, and structural enrichment was relatively unconstrained, and contributions to these aspects of behavioral management generally included individuals in a wide variety of positions within a facility. In contrast, enrichment devices were used on a less widespread basis within facilities, and positive reinforcement programs that involved dedicated trainers were rare. We suggest that altering the role of the IACUC would be a productive avenue for increasing the implementation of social housing, and that an emphasis on prevention rather than intervention against behavioral pathology is warranted. The data from this survey may be useful for anticipating future program evaluations, establishing more effective internal evaluations, and assessing program progress and resource allocation. Am. J. Primatol. 69:1,18, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Effects of ,Five freedoms' environmental enrichment on the welfare of calves reared indoors

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009
Shigeru NINOMIYA
ABSTRACT We provided comfortable resting areas in pens and tools for self-grooming and suppressing aggressive behavior for environmental enrichment in Japanese black and Japanese Shorthorn calves. At the start of the experiment, the black calves (n = 10) were 164 days old and 138 kg in weight, and the Japanese Shorthorn calves (n = 10) were 176 days old and 164 kg in weight. Calves of each breed were divided into two groups (the enrichment group and the non-treatment group), and each group was housed in a 4 m × 7.2 m pen. The effect of enrichment on calf welfare was estimated on the basis of daily weight gain and behavior. The brush stimulated the grooming behavior in calves although the mean time of using the brush decreased during the experiment. The partition of the feed trough and the wooden wall in the pen decreased the agonistic behavior in Japanese Shorthorn calves (P < 0.01) and increased the affiliative behavior in Japanese black calves (P = 0.08). The cleanliness of the bedding increased sternum lying and lying with the head touching the flank or ground in Japanese black calves and decreased the standing resting behavior in both breeds (P < 0.05 in all the cases). However, the treatments did not have an effect on daily weight gain. We concluded that the treatments would improve the welfare of calves and function as environmental enrichments. [source]


Effects of an environmental enrichment using a drum can on behavioral, physiological and productive characteristics in fattening beef cattle

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2006
Toshie ISHIWATA
ABSTRACT To evaluate the effects of environmental enrichment on behavioral, physiological and productive characteristics, 71 Japanese Black × Holstein steers (8 months of age; 299.5 ± 22.6 kg) were allocated to three pens in two repetitive experiments. Pen C (n = 11 and 12) consisted of a feeding alley for grain feed, a trough for dry hay, a water bowl and a resting space as a control pen. Pen D (n = 12 and 12) included a drum can (58 cm diameter ×,90 cm height) containing hay. Pen GD (n = 12 and 12) included a drum can that was placed around artificial plastic turf (30 × 120 cm) for grooming. The drum cans were removed after 5 months of installation. Behavioral observations were made for 2 h at 10 min intervals after feeding on three successive days each month for 10 months. Agonistic interactions were also continuously observed for 1 h after feeding to assess the dominance order (DO). Sampling blood and measuring bodyweight were performed bimonthly. The steers used the drum can frequently for 3 months after installation (1st, 2nd, 3rd months vs 4 months, all P < 0.05). The frequency of total eating of grain feed and hay was higher in pen D and pen GD than in pen C (both P < 0.01), while it was lowest in pen GD after removal of the drum can (P < 0.05). Grooming at the drum can was observed more frequently in pen GD than in pen D (P < 0.05). After they finished eating the grain feed, they ate hay at the drum can that contained additional hay rather than at the trough for hay (P < 0.01). Plasma dopamine concentrations were higher in pen D than in pen C (P < 0.05), and serum triglyceride concentrations were higher in pen C than in pen GD (P < 0.05) during the installation of the drum can. After removal of the drum can, serum total cholesterol concentrations became higher in pen D and GD than in pen C (both P < 0.05). Average daily gain correlated positively with the frequency of eating hay at the drum can in pen D (rs = 0.52, P < 0.01). In pen GD, the frequency of using the drum can correlated negatively with DO (rs = ,0.59, P < 0.01). Carcass belly fat was thicker in pens D and GD than in pen C (both P < 0.01). In pen GD, the frequency of eating hay (rs = 0.79, P < 0.01) and grooming at the drum can (rs = 0.63, P < 0.05) correlated positively with the marbling score. Although social factor affected the steers using the drum can, installing it in the early fattening stage encouraged the steers to eat and groom there and resulted in better carcass characteristics through the prolonged physiological positive effects. [source]


Environmental enrichment reverses cognitive and molecular deficits induced by developmental lead exposure

ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 1 2003
Tomás R. Guilarte PhD
Long-term deficits in cognitive function are the principal effects of lead (Pb2+) exposure in children and can be modeled in experimental animals. Current therapeutic approaches in the treatment of childhood Pb2+ intoxication are not effective in reversing learning deficits once they have occurred. We report that environmental enrichment reverses long-term deficits in spatial learning produced by developmental Pb2+ exposure in rats. Enhanced learning performance of Pb2+ -exposed animals reared in an enriched environment was associated with recovery of deficits in N- methyl- D -aspartate receptor subunit 1 (NR1) mRNA and induction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA in the hippocampus. The effect of environmental enrichment on NR1 and BDNF gene expression was specific to Pb2+ -exposed animals and was present in the absence of changes in the NR2B subunit of the N- methyl- D -aspartate receptor, GluR1, ,CamKII, or PSD-95 gene expression measured in the same animals. Our findings demonstrate that the learning impairments and NR1 subunit mRNA deficits resulting from developmental Pb2+ exposure are reversible if the animals are provided with an enriched environment even after the exposure has occurred. We propose environmental enrichment as a basis for the treatment of childhood Pb2+ intoxication. [source]


Effects of prior access and environmental enrichment on stereotypy

BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS, Issue 4 2004
John T. Rapp
A young boy's stereotypy was first evaluated in two daily 30,min sessions (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) during a free operant (FO) condition. Results from the two daily sessions during FO showed that stereotypy was lower during the second session of the day, suggesting that prior access had affected later engagement in stereotypy. The effects of environmental enrichment (EE) with music, EE music plus a guitar, and EE music plus a guitar plus contingent music loss on stereotypy were also evaluated. Unexpectedly, the results showed that the presence of music increased stereotypy during both daily sessions; however, contingent music loss decreased stereotypy and simultaneously increased untargeted guitar play. Increases in stereotypy during both daily sessions suggest that music may have increased the reinforcing value of stereotypy. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Effects of ,Five freedoms' environmental enrichment on the welfare of calves reared indoors

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009
Shigeru NINOMIYA
ABSTRACT We provided comfortable resting areas in pens and tools for self-grooming and suppressing aggressive behavior for environmental enrichment in Japanese black and Japanese Shorthorn calves. At the start of the experiment, the black calves (n = 10) were 164 days old and 138 kg in weight, and the Japanese Shorthorn calves (n = 10) were 176 days old and 164 kg in weight. Calves of each breed were divided into two groups (the enrichment group and the non-treatment group), and each group was housed in a 4 m × 7.2 m pen. The effect of enrichment on calf welfare was estimated on the basis of daily weight gain and behavior. The brush stimulated the grooming behavior in calves although the mean time of using the brush decreased during the experiment. The partition of the feed trough and the wooden wall in the pen decreased the agonistic behavior in Japanese Shorthorn calves (P < 0.01) and increased the affiliative behavior in Japanese black calves (P = 0.08). The cleanliness of the bedding increased sternum lying and lying with the head touching the flank or ground in Japanese black calves and decreased the standing resting behavior in both breeds (P < 0.05 in all the cases). However, the treatments did not have an effect on daily weight gain. We concluded that the treatments would improve the welfare of calves and function as environmental enrichments. [source]