Environmental Enrichment

Environmentally enriched pigs have transcriptional profiles consistent with neuroprotective effects and reduced microglial activity

Environmental enrichment (EE) is widely used to study the effects of external factors on brain development, function and health in rodent models, but very little is known of the effects of EE on the brain in a large animal model...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Brown, S.M., Bush, S.J., Summers, K.M. et al. 2018. Environmentally enriched pigs have transcriptional profiles consistent with neuroprotective effects and reduced microglial activity. Behavioural Brain Research 350, 6-15.

Effects of combined pre- and post-natal enrichment on anxiety-like, social, and cognitive behaviours in juvenile and adult rat offspring

The pre- and post-natal periods are characterized by unrivalled growth and are sensitive to environmental changes. A correctly stimulating early environment is essential for developing natural behaviors and maintaining affective wellness. Five litters of rat progeny were co-housed through gestation...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Sparling, J. E., Baker, S. L., Bielajew, C. 2018. Effects of combined pre- and post-natal enrichment on anxiety-like, social, and cognitive behaviours in juvenile and adult rat offspring. Behavioural Brain Research 353, 40-50.

Distinct environmental enrichment protocols reduce anxiety but differentially modulate pain sensitivity in rats

Environmental enrichment (EE) can alter anxiety as well as perception of nociceptive stimuli, suggesting a relationship between well-being and analgesia. Considering that, we aimed to evaluate the influence of different EE types on anxiety and peripheral pain sensitivity of male...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Faggionato Kimura, L., Mattaraia, V. G. M., Picolo, G. 2019. Distinct environmental enrichment protocols reduce anxiety but differentially modulate pain sensitivity in rats. Behavioural Brain Research 364, 442-446.

Voluntary exercise reduces plasma cortisol levels and improves transitory memory impairment in young and aged Octodon degus

Sleep deprivation (SD) has been reported to induce transient cognitive impairment in functional domains commonly affected in dementia, including memory. Indeed, sleep disturbance has been proposed as an early marker for Alzheimer's disease (AD). SD emulates many aging-related modifications, including...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Other Rodent, Rodent

Citation: Estrada, C., Cuenca, L., Cano-Fernandez, L. et al. 2019. Voluntary exercise reduces plasma cortisol levels and improves transitory memory impairment in young and aged Octodon degus. Behavioural Brain Research 373, 112066.

Music exposure attenuates anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and increases hippocampal spine density in male rats

Epidemiological and clinical studies suggest that early-life stress (ELS) may lead to the development of mental disorders in adulthood. Maternal separation (MS) is a valid animal model of ELS that produces detrimental effects on brain and behavior of experimental animals....

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Papadakakis, A., Sidiropoulou, K., Panagis, G. 2019. Music exposure attenuates anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and increases hippocampal spine density in male rats. Behavioural Brain Research 372, 112023.

Three little pigs! straw, sticks and bricks: ‘I’ll blow your house down’

In order for a scientific project involving animals to run smoothly, it is essential that the Animal Technologists have a good understanding of both the animals they are dealing with and of the project itself. Therefore our input to the...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Duckett, L., Phelon, L., Wheeler, L. 2018.Three little pigs! straw, sticks and bricks: ‘I'll blow your house down'. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(3), 201-203 (IAT Congress 2018 Poster Presentation).

A comparison of enrichment items for the promotion of natural gnawing behaviour in laboratory mice

Appropriate housing and husbandry, including environmental enrichment, must take the natural habitat, biology and behaviour of each species into consideration. The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (1996) states that the goal should always be to maximise...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Lopez Juaristi, 2019. A comparison of enrichment items for the promotion of natural gnawing behaviour in laboratory mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(2), 93-97.

Team awesome: Why we can be proud

The presentation I gave at IAT Congress 2019 was based on the changes and refinements the University of Dundee, Medical School Resource Unit (MSRU) has made over the past 18 months. These changes, described in this paper, include: guinea pig...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & Management, ReproductionAnimal Type: Guinea Pig, Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: King, J. 2019. Team awesome: Why we can be proud. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(2), 127-131.

Refinement: promoting Gallus Gallus welfare in an experimental poultry unit

The poultry team at The Pirbright Institute reviewed existing husbandry practices and trialled several refinement practices. The objective was to provide the birds used in research with an environment which enables them to express their natural behaviours and habituates them...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Harris, K., New, R., Smith, P. et al. 2019. Refinement: promoting Gallus Gallus welfare in an experimental poultry unit. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(2), 137-139. (IAT Congress 2018 Poster Presentation)

The effects of cage color and light intensity on rat affect during heterospecific play

Environmental enrichment provides physiological and emotional benefits to laboratory rodents. Red tinted shelters are a common enrichment found in laboratories that provide rodents with a hiding space shielded from bright light. Red tinting alters the light's spectral make-up which reduces...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: LaFollette, M. R., Swan, M. P., Smith, R. K. et al. 2019. The effects of cage color and light intensity on rat affect during heterospecific play. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 219, 104834.