Environmental Enrichment

A simple improvement of rodent tunnels for environmental enrichment

We found commercially available rodent tunnels are too small in diameter when the rat reaches a size

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Newman, A. 2010. A simple improvement of rodent tunnels for environmental enrichment. Animal Technology and Welfare 9, 57-58.

Into the comfort zone – environmental enrichment for rodent metabolism cages

Several glass shelters for mice are described and demonstrated.

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Collier, R. D. 2010. Into the comfort zone - environmental enrichment for rodent metabolism cages. Animal Technology and Welfare 9, 183-185.

Clinical pathology and cardiovascular parameters are not influenced by housing rats under increased environmental complexity

Since the release of the revised Appendix A from the Council of Europe for housing of laboratory animals there have been claims that laboratory animals should be housed under more complex conditions; known popularly as enrichment. A number of studies...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Mikkelsen, L. F., Sørensen, D. B., Krohn, T. et al. 2010. Clinical pathology and cardiovascular parameters are not influenced by housing rats under increased environmental complexity. Animal Welfare 19(4), 449-460.

Measuring the impact of animal enrichment on research results

My take on this message is that the research community is gathering enough data from laboratory animals under a variety of environmental conditions, but we are not recording and/or sharing enough information about the animal treatment part of the experimental...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Lett, G. S. 2010. Measuring the impact of animal enrichment on research results. Enrichment Record 2, 6-7.

Anxiolytic effect of music exposure on BDNFMet/Met transgenic mice

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been reported to play important roles in the modulation of anxiety, mood stabilizers, and pathophysiology of affective disorders. Recently, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the BDNF gene (Val66Met) has been found to be associated...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Li, W. J., Yu, H., Yang, J. M. et al. 2010. Anxiolytic effect of music exposure on BDNFMet/Met transgenic mice. Brain Research 1347, 71-79.

Environmental enrichment fights cancer and improves research results – What now for the biomedical researcher? Enrichment Record 5, 4-6

The article, “Environmental and Genetic Activation of a Brain-Adipocyte BDNF/Leptin Axis Causes Cancer Remission and Inhibition,” was first published in Cell on July 8, and quickly echoed by online editions of major journals including The Scientist, Scientific American, Nature and...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Lett, G. S., Patterson-Kane, E. G. 2010. Environmental enrichment fights cancer and improves research results - What now for the biomedical researcher? Enrichment Record 5, 4-6.

Environmental-enrichment-related variations in behavioral, biochemical, and physiologic responses of Sprague-Dawley and Long Evans rats

The behavioral, biochemical, and physiologic consequences of 6 wk of environmental enrichment were evaluated in male Long Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats and compared with those of rats in standard single-housing conditions. Standard housing provided little or no social or physical...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Konkle, A. T. M., Kentner, A. C., Baker, S. L. et al. 2010. Environmental-enrichment-related variations in behavioral, biochemical, and physiologic responses of Sprague-Dawley and Long Evans rats. JAALAS 49(4), 427-436.

The effect of type of rooting material and space allowance on exploration and abnormal behaviour in growing pigs

The experiment aimed to investigate the effect of type of rooting material and space allowance on explorative and abnormal behaviour in growing pigs. Thirty-six pens with partly slatted concrete floor were allocated to one of four treatments: (1) low space...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & Management, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Jensen, M. B., Studnitz, M., Pedersen, L. J. 2010. The effect of type of rooting material and space allowance on exploration and abnormal behaviour in growing pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 123(3-4), 87-92.

The COST Manual of Laboratory Animal Care and Use: Refinement, Reduction, and Research (1st Ed)

COST Action B-24 established four working groups to research and discuss issues relevant to laboratory animal science. These included the housing of animals, environmental needs, refinement of procedures, genetically modified animals, and cost-benefit analysis. Based on the groups' findings, The...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Euthanasia, Handling, Housing, Regulations & Ethical Review, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Howard, B., Nevalainen, T., Perretta, G. (ed). 2010. The COST Manual of Laboratory Animal Care and Use: Refinement, Reduction, and Research (1st Ed). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Recognizing and addressing stereotypic behaviors

The combination of mouse igloos and running wheels proved to be highly effective in reducing flipping, circling, and jumping.

Year Published: 2010Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Harper, V., Frey, A., Bradley, D. et al. 2010. Recognizing and addressing stereotypic behaviors. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 15(4), 2.