Long-lasting housing environment manipulation and acute loss of environmental enrichment impact BALB/c mice behaviour in multiple functional domains.

ABSTRACT: Understanding environmental influences on individuals' behaviour is challenging. Here we have investigated the housing impact of 9 weeks of enriched environment (EE) and social isolation (SI) and the impact of abrupt deprivation of EE (enrichment removal: ER) on BALB/c mice. Compared with the widely used C57BL/6 strain in research, BALB/c synthesises serotonin less efficiently due to a genetic variation and thus may potentially represent human populations at higher risk of stress-related disorders. We assessed the effects of EE and SI by conducting a behavioural test battery and the effects of acute ER by monitoring homecage activities and social behaviour. We found that EE and SI impact BALB/c's physiological states and behavioural performances from lower to higher cognitive processes: in

SUBMITTER: Sukegawa M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9306724 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature