Animals exposed to semi-natural group-housing experience a complex environment; whereas environmental enrichment might protect against stressors, a socially-enriched environment(SEE) could entail aggressive inter-male encounters with additive stress effects. In the present study, we investigated the effects of exposure to external stressors, footshocks and forced swimming, on adrenal gland and body weights as well as on behavior in rats housed under SEE or standard, non-enriched environment (NEE), conditions. We found that SEEs reduced the anxiogenic effects of stress. Moreover, SEEs improved the performance in an operant task and prevented the increase in impulsive behavior produced by external stressors on NEE animals.Whereas these findings are indicative of stress-buffering effects of SEEs, adrenal gland weights were
increased while total body weights were decreased in SEE rats, suggesting that SEEs may simultaneously exacerbate
physiological measurements of stress. Finally, in the SEE, total aggressive behaviors and body wounds were
paradoxically reduced in animals that received external stressors in comparison to non-stressed controls. The
consequences of the external stressors applied here are not uniform, varying according to the housing condition
and the outcome considered.
Animals exposed to semi-natural group-housing experience a complex environment; whereas environmental enrichment might protect against stressors, a socially-enriched environment(SEE) could entail aggressive inter-male encounters with additive stress effects. In the present study, we investigated the effects of exposure to external stressors, footshocks and forced swimming, on adrenal gland and body weights as well as on behavior in rats housed under SEE or standard, non-enriched environment (NEE), conditions. We found that SEEs reduced the anxiogenic effects of stress. Moreover, SEEs improved the performance in an operant task and prevented the increase in impulsive behavior produced by external stressors on NEE animals.Whereas these findings are indicative of stress-buffering effects of SEEs, adrenal gland weights wereincreased while total body weights were decreased in SEE rats, suggesting that SEEs may simultaneously exacerbatephysiological measurements of stress. Finally, in the SEE, total aggressive behaviors and body wounds wereparadoxically reduced in animals that received external stressors in comparison to non-stressed controls. Theconsequences of the external stressors applied here are not uniform, varying according to the housing conditionand the outcome considered.
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..