title: Short exposures to enriched environments can increase genetic variability of behavior in mice.
abstract: Previous work indicates that mice of different genotypes reared in enriched environments show differential increases in performance on a food-seeking task. In this study 2 experiments examined the effects in selected mice strains of short exposures to such enrichment. Experiment 1 indicated that 48 hr of exposure to enriched cages was sufficient to produce results found previously when subjects were reared from birth in enriched cages. Experiment 2 indicated that as little as 6 hr of exposure to an enriched cage was sufficient to produce almost maximal enrichment effects in C57BL/10J mice.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005824:Genetics, Behavioral; D007858:Learning; D051379:Mice; D008805:Mice, Inbred A; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D009048:Motor Skills; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D012931:Social Environment; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors