The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning
The early postnatal period is a sensitive period in rodents as behavioural systems are developing and maturing during this time. However, relatively little information is available about the impact of environmental enrichment on offspring behaviour if enrichment is implemented only during this perio...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2016
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46071/ |
| _version_ | 1848797251692920832 |
|---|---|
| author | Ki, Angel Li Torp Lund, Emilie Voigt, Jörg-Peter |
| author_facet | Ki, Angel Li Torp Lund, Emilie Voigt, Jörg-Peter |
| author_sort | Ki, Angel Li |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The early postnatal period is a sensitive period in rodents as behavioural systems are developing and maturing during this time. However, relatively little information is available about the impact of environmental enrichment on offspring behaviour if enrichment is implemented only during this period. Here, environmental enrichment was provided from postnatal day 1 until weaning. On post-natal day 9, maternal behaviour and nonmaternal behaviour of the dam was observed. Nursing time in the enriched group was reduced but dams showed more non-maternal appetitive behaviours. Offspring were exposed to either the open field or the elevated plus maze (EPM) after weaning. In the open field, rats from the enriched group approached the more aversive inner zone of the open field later than control rats. Offspring from the enriched group made fewer entries into the inner zone and spent less time in this part of the arena. Enrichment had no impact on behaviour in the EPM. The present study provides evidence that postnatal enrichment can interfere with maternal behaviour in rats and can possibly lead to increased anxiety in the offspring. The findings suggest that enrichment procedures can have potentially unintended effects, interfering with the development of emotional behaviours in rats. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:00:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-46071 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:00:55Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-460712020-05-04T20:04:35Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46071/ The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning Ki, Angel Li Torp Lund, Emilie Voigt, Jörg-Peter The early postnatal period is a sensitive period in rodents as behavioural systems are developing and maturing during this time. However, relatively little information is available about the impact of environmental enrichment on offspring behaviour if enrichment is implemented only during this period. Here, environmental enrichment was provided from postnatal day 1 until weaning. On post-natal day 9, maternal behaviour and nonmaternal behaviour of the dam was observed. Nursing time in the enriched group was reduced but dams showed more non-maternal appetitive behaviours. Offspring were exposed to either the open field or the elevated plus maze (EPM) after weaning. In the open field, rats from the enriched group approached the more aversive inner zone of the open field later than control rats. Offspring from the enriched group made fewer entries into the inner zone and spent less time in this part of the arena. Enrichment had no impact on behaviour in the EPM. The present study provides evidence that postnatal enrichment can interfere with maternal behaviour in rats and can possibly lead to increased anxiety in the offspring. The findings suggest that enrichment procedures can have potentially unintended effects, interfering with the development of emotional behaviours in rats. Elsevier 2016-01 Article PeerReviewed Ki, Angel Li, Torp Lund, Emilie and Voigt, Jörg-Peter (2016) The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning. Behavioural Processes, 122 . pp. 51-58. ISSN 1872-8308 anxiety; elevated plus maze; enrichment; nursing; open field; rat http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376635715300760?via%3Dihub doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2015.11.008 doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2015.11.008 |
| spellingShingle | anxiety; elevated plus maze; enrichment; nursing; open field; rat Ki, Angel Li Torp Lund, Emilie Voigt, Jörg-Peter The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning |
| title | The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning |
| title_full | The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning |
| title_fullStr | The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning |
| title_short | The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning |
| title_sort | impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning |
| topic | anxiety; elevated plus maze; enrichment; nursing; open field; rat |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46071/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46071/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46071/ |