Environmental enrichment for laboratory rats and mice: endocrine, physiological, and behavioral benefits of meeting rodents' biological needs

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AudienciaPúblico en generales_ES
CoberturaMéxicoes_ES
Fecha de ingreso2026-10-05T16:33:26Z
Fecha de publicación2025-01-01
ResumenStandard housing for laboratory rodents is characterized by cages that do not always provide an adequate environment to meet the animal's behavioral needs. When animals are reared under impoverished conditions, negative states such as boredom and distress might arise. Environmental enrichment (EE) is an alternative to expose rodents to physical, sensory, cognitive, and/or social stimulation greater than the one received under standard housing conditions. The present review aims to discuss the main physiological, endocrine, and behavioral effects of environmental enrichment in murine research models. The positive and negative effects will be addressed, as well as factors including enrichment-related (i.e., type of EE, duration of EE) and animal-related aspects (i.e., strain, sex, or age) that need to be considered by researchers when adopting EE for laboratory rodents. It was observed that EE decreases corticosterone concentrations in rodents, an indication of lower levels of stress. Likewise, tachycardia, hypertension, and shorter heart rate variability are ameliorated with the implementation of EE (reflecting a beneficial effect). Among the behavioral benefits, rodents reared under EE have anti-anxiety characteristics, increased exploratory behavior, and less fear-related responses than standard-housed animals. However, in some cases, increased aggression has been reported. Although there is no standardization for EE, to properly adopt EE in experimental facilities, researchers must consider enrichment- and animal-related factors to improve the welfare of laboratory rodents.es_ES
Doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2025.1622417es_ES
URIhttps://riuat.uat.edu.mx/handle/123456789/5267
Idiomaenes_ES
EditorialFRONTIERS MEDIA SAes_ES
RelaciónFrontiers in Veterinary Sciencees_ES
URL relacionadohttps://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2025.1622417es_ES
DerechosAcceso abierto (Metadatos de producción científica)es_ES
Licenciahttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2es_ES
FuenteFrontiers in Veterinary Science
Palabra claveanimal welfarees_ES
Palabra clavedistresses_ES
Palabra clavehusbandryes_ES
Palabra clavelaboratory animalses_ES
Palabra clavemurinees_ES
Palabra clavephysiological traitses_ES
TítuloEnvironmental enrichment for laboratory rats and mice: endocrine, physiological, and behavioral benefits of meeting rodents' biological needses_ES
TipoArtículoes_ES
ArbitradoHa sido Arbitradoes_ES
AutorDominguez-Oliva, Adriana
AutorHernandez-Avalos, Ismael
AutorBueno-Nava, Antonio
AutorChavez, Cuauhtemoc
AutorVerduzco-Mendoza, Antonio
AutorOlmos-Hernandez, Adriana
AutorVillanueva-Garcia, Dina
AutorAvila-Luna, Alberto
AutorMora-Medina, Patricia
AutorMartinez-Burnes, Julio
AutorGalvez-Rosas, Arturo
AutorMota-Rojas, Daniel
AutorDominguez-Oliva, Adrianaes_ES
AutorHernandez-Avalos, Ismaeles_ES
AutorBueno-Nava, Antonioes_ES
AutorChavez, Cuauhtemoces_ES
AutorVerduzco-Mendoza, Antonioes_ES
AutorOlmos-Hernandez, Adrianaes_ES
AutorVillanueva-Garcia, Dinaes_ES
AutorAvila-Luna, Albertoes_ES
AutorMora-Medina, Patriciaes_ES
AutorMartinez-Burnes, Julioes_ES
AutorGalvez-Rosas, Arturoes_ES
AutorMota-Rojas, Danieles_ES
InstituciónUniversidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas
InstituciónUniversidad Autónoma de Tamaulipases_ES
URL relacionadahttps://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2025.1622417
Tipo de artículoIndexado
Tipo de artículoIndexadoes_ES
Volumen12es_ES

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