Effect of Environmental Enrichment on Stress Related Systems in Rats

Moncek, Fedor; Dunčko, Roman; Johansson, Barbro; Ježová, Daniela

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2826.2004.01173.x

Cited by 242 publications

(154 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Among factors that could account for the discrepant findings, the time of the light-dark cycle at which the samples were collected may be of major relevance (Cano et al 2008). Confirming previous reports in adult rats (e.g., Bakos et al 2009;Leal-Galicia et al 2007;Schrijver et al 2002; but see Moncek et al 2004), we observed that enrichment did not influence the basal corticosterone level, whatever the age.…”

Section: Basal Corticosterone Levelssupporting

confidence: 85%

Lifelong environmental enrichment in rats: impact on emotional behavior, spatial memory vividness, and cholinergic neurons over the lifespan

Harati

Barbelivien

Herbeaux

et al. 2012

AGE

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We assessed lifelong environmental enrichment effects on possible age-related modifications in emotional behaviors, spatial memory acquisition, retrieval of recent and remote spatial memory, and cholinergic forebrain systems. At the age of 1 month, Long-Evans female rats were placed in standard or enriched rearing conditions and tested after 3 (young), 12 (middle-aged), or 24 (aged)months. Environmental enrichment decreased the reactivity to stressful situations regardless of age. In the water maze test, it delayed the onset of learning deficits and prevented age-dependent spatial learning and recent memory retrieval alterations. Remote memory retrieval, which was altered independently of age under standard rearing conditions, was rescued by enrichment in young and middle-aged, but unfortunately not aged rats. A protected basal forebrain cholinergic system, which could well be one out of several neuronal manifestations of lifelong environmental enrichment, might have contributed to the behavioral benefits of this enrichment.

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Section: Basal Corticosterone Levelssupporting

confidence: 85%

Lifelong environmental enrichment in rats: impact on emotional behavior, spatial memory vividness, and cholinergic neurons over the lifespan

Harati

Barbelivien

Herbeaux

et al. 2012

AGE

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“…They showed also a decrease in body weight gain, as observed at the end of experiment. These observations are in agreement with previous data obtained in rats (Moncek et al, 2004). Rats kept in an enriched environment also showed a reduction of body weight gain, increase in plasma corticosterone and adrenal gland enlargement.…”

Section: Acta Veterinaria Hungarica 56 2008supporting

confidence: 83%

Impact of housing technology on blood plasma corticosterone levels in laying hens

Pavlík

Ježová

Zapletal

et al. 2008

Acta Veterinaria Hungarica

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The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that keeping laying hens in an enriched environment supposed to represent a better welfare for the birds is accompanied by decreased corticosterone levels, compared to hens kept under traditional conditions. Plasma corticosterone levels in hens reared in standard and enriched cages and those kept on deep litter from 15 to 75 weeks of age were evaluated. The highest corticosterone levels were observed in hens kept on deep litter, which was associated with a lower intensity of egg production, longest time of movement and a high percentage of time spent dustbathing and scratching. Hens housed in the enriched environment exhibited low levels of aggression, low body weight at the end of the experiment and similar or higher corticosterone levels compared to those of hens kept under standard conditions. Thus, the results of the present study show that housing technologies which are more similar to the animal's natural environment need not be associated with decreased levels of plasma corticosterone. Keeping hens in traditional cage technology was not found to be particularly stressful, which may be an important finding with respect to the current restrictions on outside housing in regions with an increased risk of viral infection.

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“…These behavioural effects produced by environmental enrichment (EE) are, in part, mediated by changes in the activity of the HPA axis and the release of corticosterone [24]. Studies from our laboratory and others suggest that changes in the activity of the PFC, presumably infralimbic cortex, explain the reduced reactivity to stress that is observed in enriched animals [9,25,26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infralimbic cortex controls the activity of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis and the formation of aversive memory: Effects of environmental enrichment

Ronzoni

Antón

Mora

et al. 2016

Behavioural Brain Research

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2 HIGHLIGHTS-Infralimbic stimulation increases basal plasma levels of corticosterone.-Environmental enrichment enhances the effects of infralimbic stimulation.-Infralimbic inhibition reduces stress-induced corticosterone in control animals.-Infralimbic cortex contributes to HPA activation during stress and aversive memory. 3 ABSTRACTThe aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the stimulation and inhibition of the ventral part of the medial prefrontal cortex (infralimbic cortex) on basal and stress-induced plasma levels of corticosterone and on the acquisition of aversive memory in animals maintained in control and environmental enrichment (EE) conditions. Intracortical microinjections of the GABA A antagonist picrotoxin and agonist muscimol were performed in male Wistar rats to stimulate and inhibit, respectively, the activity of the infralimbic cortex. Injections were performed 60 min before foot shock stress and training in the inhibitory avoidance task. Picrotoxin injections into the infralimbic cortex increased basal plasma levels of corticosterone.These increases were higher in EE rats which suggest that EE enhances the control exerted by infralimbic cortex over the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and corticosterone release. Muscimol injections into the infralimbic cortex reduced the stress-induced plasma levels of corticosterone and the retention latency 24 h after training in the inhibitory avoidance performance in control and EE animals, respectively. These results further suggest that the infralimbic cortex is required for the activation of the HPA axis during stress and for the acquisition of contextual aversive memories.

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Effect of Environmental Enrichment on Stress Related Systems in Rats

Cited by 242 publications

References 50 publications

Lifelong environmental enrichment in rats: impact on emotional behavior, spatial memory vividness, and cholinergic neurons over the lifespan

Lifelong environmental enrichment in rats: impact on emotional behavior, spatial memory vividness, and cholinergic neurons over the lifespan

Impact of housing technology on blood plasma corticosterone levels in laying hens

Infralimbic cortex controls the activity of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis and the formation of aversive memory: Effects of environmental enrichment

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