Journal
STRESS-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON THE BIOLOGY OF STRESS
Volume 15, Issue 3, Pages 354-360Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.3109/10253890.2011.623249
Keywords
Aggression; corticosterone; environmental enrichment; norepinephrine; sensitization; stress
Funding
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Fonds de la recherche en sante du Quebec (FRSQ)
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Housing rodents in an enriched environment (EE) has been typically considered to have positive effects on well-being and cognitive functioning of the animals. However, in some strains of mice, EEs have also been reported to elicit aggression and to promote stress-related outcomes. In the current investigation, we examined whether environmental enrichment would elicit aggression among CD-1 male mice and thus sensitize responses to a subsequent mild stressor. It was first observed that mice housed in an EE for 2 weeks displayed more aggressive behaviors than did mice that had been housed in a standard environment (SE). In the second experiment, it was noted that after 4 weeks of EE or SE housing, mice exhibited comparable plasma corticosterone concentrations as well as levels of brain norepinephrine and its metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), in the absence of a challenge. However, upon exposure to mild stressor (placement in a novel cage), relative to their SE counterparts, EE mice were more active and displayed higher plasma corticosterone concentrations and enhanced MHPG accumulation in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. It seems that enrichment in male CD-1 mice promotes aggression, and may sensitize biological processes, possibly increasing vulnerability to stressor-related outcomes.
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