Early-life handling stimulation and environmental enrichment: are some of their effects mediated by similar neural mechanisms?
Neonatal (early) handling (EH) and environmental enrichment (EE) of laboratory rodents have been the two most commonly used methods of providing supplementary environmental stimulation in order to study behavioral and neurobiological plasticity. A large body of research has been generated since the 1950s, unequivocally showing that both treatments induce profound and long-lasting behavioral and neural consequences while also inducing plastic brain effects and being "protective" against some age-related deficits. The present work is aimed at reviewing the main neurobehavioral effects of both manipulations, with the final purpose of comparing them and trying to find out to what extent the effects of both treatments may share (or not) possible neural mechanisms.
Fernández-Teruel
Alberto
A
Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. fernandez.teruel@uab.es
Giménez-Llort
Lydia
L
Escorihuela
Rosa M
RM
Gil
Luis
L
Aguilar
Raúl
R
Steimer
Thierry
T
Tobeña
Adolf
A
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D004777:Environment; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D006234:Handling, Psychological; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats