Proper housing conditions in experimental stroke studies—special emphasis on environmental enrichment
نویسندگان
چکیده
Environmental enrichment provides laboratory animals with novelty and extra space, allowing different forms of multisensory stimulation ranging from social grouping to enhanced motor activity. At the extreme end of the spectrum, one can have a super-enriched environment. Environmental enrichment is believed to result in improved cognitive and sensorimotor functions both in naïve rodents and in animals with brain lesions such as those occurring after a stroke. Robust behavioral effects in animals which have suffered a stroke are probably related not only to neuronal plasticity in the perilesional cortex but also in remote brain areas. There is emerging evidence to suggest that testing restorative therapies in an enriched environment can maximize treatment effects, e.g., the perilesional milieu seems to be more receptive to concomitant pharmacotherapy and/or cell therapy. This review provides an updated overview on the effect of an enriched environment in stroke animals from the practical points to be considered when planning experiments to the mechanisms explaining why combined therapies can contribute to behavioral improvement in a synergistic manner.
منابع مشابه
Impact of environmental enrichment in mice. 1: effect of housing conditions on body weight, organ weights and haematology in different strains.
Currently, environmental enrichment is a very common means of improving animal well-being, especially for laboratory animals. Although environmental enrichment seems to be a possible way for improving the well-being of animals, the consideration of housing laboratory animals should not only focus solely on animal well-being, manpower and economics but also on the precision and accuracy of the e...
متن کاملRefining Housing, Husbandry and Care for Animals Used in Studies Involving Biotelemetry
Biotelemetry can contribute towards reducing animal numbers and suffering in disciplines including physiology, pharmacology and behavioural research. However, the technique can also cause harm to animals, making biotelemetry a 'refinement that needs refining'. Current welfare issues relating to the housing and husbandry of animals used in biotelemetry studies are single vs. group housing, provi...
متن کاملModifications to husbandry and housing conditions of laboratory rodents for improved well-being.
For a change to be considered enriching, the change must enhance animal welfare and improve biological functioning of the animals. A review of the literature shows that a consensus on the definition of changes constituting "environmental enrichment" has yet to be reached. For this reason, the results of studies on the effects of rodent enrichment are inconsistent. In many cases, changes have no...
متن کاملHousing Environment and Enrichment for Laboratory Rats - Refinement and Reduction Outcomes
Laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus) are usually housed in polycarbonate, polypropylene or stainless steel solid bottom cages (SBCs) with bedding, although grid floor cages (GFCs) without contact bedding are also used. When housing rodents in laboratory conditions group housing and environmental enrichment are generally recommended. Due to the large number of rats used in biomedical research eac...
متن کامل