Study | Diagnostic/Behavior impairment | Animal model | Enriched condition | Behavioral outcomes measured | Findings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Schneider et al. (2006) | Autism | VPA rats (male only) | Large cage (60 × 60 × 40 cm); stimulating materials including swings and wheel runners, materials changed every two days | Nocioception, Tactile threshold, Sensorimotor gating, locomotor activity, repetitive/stereotypic behavior, exploratory activity, social behavior, social (play behavior), anxiety related behavior | Exposure to enriched condition normalized response to pain, reduced tactile hypersensitivity, stronger acoustic pre-pulse inhibition, lower locomotor activity, reduced stereotypic behaviors, enhanced exploratory activity, decreased anxiety, increased social behavior. |
Restivo et al. (2005) | Fragile X | FMR1-KO mice | Exposure to two enriched cages, variety of toys and materials presented including, climbing structure and running wheel. Materials changed every three days. | Open field exploration, object habituation, hyperactivity | Enrichment reduced anxiety-like behaviors in open field and restored object habituation. No effect of enriched condition on hyperactivity. |
Kondo et al. (2008) | Rett Syndrome | MeCP2tm1Tam mice | Larger home cages with a variety of objects and running wheels. Objects changed every two days. | Motor coordination, Locomotor activity | Environmental enrichment improved motor coordination prevented progressive coordination deficit from developing in female mice only. |
Nag et al. (2009) | Rett Syndrome | MeCP21lox mice (male only) | Larger housing (470 mm × 250 mm × 210 mm), variety of objects including climbing structure and running wheel. Objects changed weekly. | Locomotor activity, Balance and motor coordination, Fear conditioning | Environmental enrichment improved locomotor activity and showed a trend towards improving freezing responses to contextual fear. No effects on motor coordination or cued fear conditioning were found. |
Lonetti et al. (2010) | Rett Syndrome | MeCP2 mice | Not described | Motor coordination, motor learning, anxiety-related behavior | Enrichment ameliorated motor coordination and motor learning deficits in males. Reduced memory deficits and anxiety related behavior in females. |
Martinez-Cue et al. (2002) | Down Syndrome | Ts65Dn mice | Larger cage (42 × 50 × 20 cm) with climbing ladder, running wheel, and toys which were changed every three days. Foods of different tastes were added with varying degrees of difficulty to acquire them. | Spontaneous activity, Exploratory behavior, Spatial memory | Environmental enrichment increased exploratory behavior for male and female Ts65Dn mice. Improved spatial learning was observed for females only. |
Martinez-Cue et al. (2005) | Down Syndrome | Ts65Dn mice (male only) | Enrichment in standard housing with 2-3 mice per cage with toys, bedding, and increasing challenges to find food. | Aggressive behavior, Anxiety-related behavior, Spatial learning | Performance was deteriorated in Ts65Dn mice exposed to the social enrichment condition. |
Enrichment in social condition with 8-10 animals per large cage (42 × 50 × 20 cm). Activity wheel and swing were provided as were increased challenges to find food. | |||||
Hannigan et al. (1993) | FASD | Rats prenatally exposed to alcohol | Housed 8 per cage in large arena (1 × 1 × .6 m). A variety of toys/materials were provided and changed every 3 days. Animals handled daily. | Motor coordination (gait), Spatial memory | Environmental enrichment ameliorated ataxic gait patterns’ and improved spatial learning in rats exposed prenatally to alcohol. |
Wainwright et al. (1993) | FASD | Rats prenatally exposed to alcohol | Housed 12 per cage in larger cages (61 × 61 × 30 cm). Toys were changed every second day and the environment afforded opportunities to climb and dig. | Spatial Learning | Improved speed of learning in enriched animals. |
Powell et al. (2000) | Stereotyped Behavior | Deer Mice (Permoyscus maniculatus) | Larger more complex housing (609 × 480 × 100 cm) equipped with bedding, mesh cylinders and places to hide. | Exhibition of stereotyped behaviors | Exposure to enriched housing condition reduced the amount of spontaneous stereotyped behavior exhibited in the mice. |
Turner et al. (2003) | Stereotyped Behavior | Deer Mice (Permoyscus maniculatus) | Larger multi-compartment housing with ramps bedding, running wheel, shelter and toys. Objects changed on weekly basis. Bird seed scattered to encourage foraging behaviors. | Exhibition of stereotyped behaviors | Enriched mice exhibited significantly less stereotypic behavior than standard-cage mice. |
Morley-Fletcher et al. (2003) | Prenatal Stress | Rats prenatally exposed to stress | Larger paired housing (40 × 25 × 30 cm) with a variety of materials, suspended objects, and a wheel. Objects were changed two times per week. | Social interaction, Social (play) behaviors | Following enrichment, rats prenatally exposed to stress showed increased play behavior and reduced hormonal stress levels. |
Laviola et al. (2004) | Prenatal Stress | Rats prenatally exposed to stress | Larger social housing (40 × 25 × 30 cm) with a variety of materials, climbing platforms, and a wheel. Objects were changed every three days. | Exploratory behavior, social interaction/play behavior | Enriched housing increased play behavior in prenatally stressed rats. No improvements in exploratory behavior were noted. |
Qian et al. (2008) | Prenatal Stress | Rats prenatally exposed to stress | Larger cages (80 × 60 × 40 cm) with 10 rats per cage. Cages equipped with wheel, shelter, toys, swings and tunnels. Tosy and materials changed once per week. | Fearful behavior | Reduced fearfulness seen in animals exposed to enriched environment. |