17/11/2021 - Tommaso (ESR #6)
Today we are talking about environmental enrichment! This is one of those measures that can be taken in order to increase the quality of life of our lab animals (look at flyer from 13/10/2021 - below), but that's not the only purpose. In fact, environmental enrichment increases the complexity of the system used in the experiment and very often can represent a more ethological condition, which has two consequences:
- general increased quality of the data collected since the animals are in a more natural environment
- the possibility to simulate or observe more easily complex behaviors, which are the starting point for the study on pathologies like schizophrenia, autism, PTSD, and many other psychiatric disorders
What you see in the images are just some examples of the objects we use to enrich the environment of our mice
Shelter: it gives mice a nice and closed space (just how they like it!) to explore and rest and occasionally to hide from a confrontation with other males
Closed nest: it is a place where mice can sleep altogether to provide warmth to each other
Ramp: mice can climb to the top or jump from it. It also provides some variety to the environment and satisfies their explorative instinct