title: Greater efficacy of preweaning than postweaning environmental enrichment on maze learning in adult rats.
abstract: In order to assess the behavioural effects of environmental stimulation at different stages of development, two groups of rats were exposed to multisensory enrichment on days 10-24 (preweaning) or 25-39 (postweaning). Both groups had four 25-min sessions per day in a large cage with a variety of stimuli, in addition to 3 min of handling before each session. The mother of the preweaning group remained in the home cage during the stimulation sessions. A third group was maintained in a social condition. Testing in a Hebb-Williams maze started when the rats of the 3 groups were 100 days old. Error, latency and running time scores were lowest in the preweaning group.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiología y Biofisica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Venable
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pinto-Hamuy
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Arraztoa
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Contador
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chellew
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perán
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Valenzuela
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation; D011340:Problem Solving; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012931:Social Environment; D014886:Weaning