Article
Behavioral Sciences
Anna L. Farmer, Mark H. Lewis
Summary: Restricted repetitive behaviors (RRB) are common in clinical populations, including autism spectrum disorder. Animal studies have shown that these behaviors can be reduced by rearing in enriched environments (EE). This review summarizes the current knowledge of the relationship between EE and RRB, discusses potential mechanisms for EE's attenuation of RRB, and highlights gaps in the literature and future directions.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Amy E. Clipperton-Allen, Angela Zhang, Ori S. Cohen, Damon Theron Page
Summary: The study demonstrated that exposing Pten(+/-) mice to environmental enrichment after brain overgrowth occurred can improve their social behavioral deficits and partially ameliorate repetitive behavior deficits. Environmental enrichment restored the abnormal levels of excitatory and inhibitory presynaptic proteins in Pten(+/-) mice.
Article
Neurosciences
Gabriel Araujo Costa, Nivea Karla de Gusmao Taveiros Silva, Priscila Marianno, Priti Chivers, Alexis Bailey, Rosana Camarini
Summary: Environmental enrichment (EE) can modulate the expression and epigenetic regulation of BDNF through altering the methylation level of BDNF exon IV, resulting in upregulation of BDNF exons II, IV, VI, and IX. However, this regulation does not have a significant impact on anxiety-like behavior and stress levels in mice exposed to EE.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Monireh Mansouri, Hamidreza Pouretemad, Gregers Wegener, Mehrdad Roghani, Masoud Afshari, Carina Mallard, Maryam Ardalan
Summary: The study found that environmental enrichment had limited effects in improving autism-related behaviors induced by maternal separation. While it reduced repetitive behaviors, it did not improve impaired sociability and anxiety behaviors. In fact, environmental enrichment exacerbated anxiety and social behavior deficits, possibly modulated by BDNF.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Boram Lee, Serin Park, Hyun Jeong Kwon, Gwi Seo Hwang, Moonju Kim
Summary: This study examined the effectiveness of a 6-month integrative treatment program, including herbal medicine, Floortime, and sensory enrichment therapy, on children with autism spectrum disorder. The results showed significant improvements in core symptoms scores and no serious adverse events were reported. The treatment program was found to be safe and well-tolerated.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
P. S. Taylor, L. Fanning, B. Dawson, D. Schneider, C. Dekoning, C. McCarthy, J. -L. Rault
Summary: Not all chickens access the outdoor range when given the opportunity. By increasing the complexity of the indoor environment early in life, chickens can be prepared to use the range. Chickens with visual access to the range were more active, spent more time foraging, accessed the range earlier, and spent more time on the range compared to chickens in the other treatment groups. These chickens also had lower mortality rates. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms behind these behavioral changes.
Article
Neurosciences
Yu-Shan Chen, Si-Ming Zhang, Chao-Xiong Yue, Peng Xiang, Jin-Quan Li, Zhen Wei, Lang Xu, Yan Zeng
Summary: This study investigates the longitudinal trends of BDNF-TrkB expression and dendritic development in Fragile X syndrome (FXS) mice, and shows that environmental enrichment delays and attenuates neurological alterations in FXS mice, preventing the development of cognitive and anxiety-related abnormalities and repetitive stereotyped behaviors. Transcriptomic analysisreveals that environmental enrichment increases the differences in gene expression associated with neural system and behavioral development in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Luana M. Manosso, Lia D. R. Broseghini, Jose Marcelo B. Campos, Alex Paulo Z. Padilha, Maria Eduarda M. Botelho, Maiara A. da Costa, Helena M. Abelaira, Cinara L. Goncalves, Gislaine Z. Reus
Summary: An enriched environment plays a crucial role in improving psychiatric and neurological symptoms, such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), by modulating behavior and neurobiology.
BRAIN RESEARCH BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ozge Selin Cevik, Kenan Cevik, Gulhan Orekici Temel, Leyla Sahin
Summary: This study examined the effects of environmental enrichment on memory functions in maternally separated rats. The results showed that environmental enrichment did not affect memory performance, while maternal separation increased it. This suggests that environmental enrichment alone is not sufficient to compensate for the detrimental effects of maternal separation stress on memory.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Nicole A. Stadnick, Gregory A. Aarons, Kassandra Martinez, Marisa Sklar, Karen J. Coleman, Daniel P. Gizzo, Elizabeth Lane, Cynthia L. Kuelbs, Lauren Brookman-Frazee
Summary: The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and adoption of a model for mental health care for autistic children. The results indicated that the model was feasible and acceptable, but more specific and tailored implementation support was needed. Adoption rates varied between different healthcare systems, highlighting important considerations for scaling up this care model.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Irantzu Rico-Barrio, Sara Penasco, Leire Lekunberri, Maitane Serrano, Jon Egana-Huguet, Amaia Mimenza, Edgar Soria-Gomez, Almudena Ramos, Ianire Buceta, Inmaculada Gerrikagoitia, Juan Mendizabal-Zubiaga, Izaskun Elezgarai, Nagore Puente, Pedro Grandes
Summary: Binge drinking in adolescents can affect memory and synaptic plasticity, but memory recovery in an enriched environment may depend on cannabinoid receptors and metabotropic glutamate receptors. The study suggests that an enriched environment has a positive impact on the brains exposed to water and alcohol.
Article
Psychiatry
Ashley M. Penney, Jessica Greenson, Ilene S. Schwartz, Annette Mercer Estes
Summary: This paper proposes a framework for accurate and accelerated autism diagnosis for children before age three, emphasizing a collaborative diagnostic process that relies heavily on Birth to Three provider knowledge and expertise.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Zhaoyu Ma, Mohamed F. Foda, Yanli Zhao, Heyou Han
Summary: Rapid development of nanotechnology provides promising strategies in biomedicine, especially in tumor therapy. Improve cellular internalization from extracellular to intracellular via active targeting and enhance the intracellular retention of therapeutics by subcellular localization are crucial for the development of advanced anticancer nanosystems for strengthening the tumor therapy.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Karen Chenausky, Andrea C. Norton, Helen Tager-Flusberg, Gottfried Schlaug
Summary: This study tested an intonation-based speech treatment for minimally verbal children with autism and found that it had a positive impact on improving their language abilities.
ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Psychology, Developmental
Aaron R. Dallman, Jonet Artis, Linda Watson, Sarah Wright
Summary: In this systematic review, disparities and differences in service access and use for children with ASD are examined. Findings suggest that older children, those with less severe ASD symptoms, from minority groups, and specific geographic regions are less likely to receive allied health services. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
(2021)