title: Behavioral effects of different enriched environments in mice treated with the cholinergic agonist PNU-282987.
abstract: Environmental enrichment is an experimental model in which rodents are housed in complex environments that favor lower levels of anxiety-like behavior. PNU-282987 (PNU) is a α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist with beneficial effects on learning though its effects on anxiety are unclear. Our main aim was to carry out a study of its effects in NMRI (n=96) mice reared in different environments: environmental enrichment (EE), Marlau™ cages (MC) and standard environment (SE). After a 4-month period, mice received acute treatment of PNU (2.5, 5 and 10mg/kg) and were evaluated in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) and hole-board (HB). In the EPM, both EE and MC reared mice showed an increase in percentage of entries into open arms while those from EE group differed from SE in time spent on open arms. Mice treated with 2.5 and 10 mg/kg of PNU devoted less time to rearing into open arms. In the HB task, MC mice displayed higher exploratory activity reflected in more head-dips (HD) during the first minute than EE and SE, whereas EE displayed low exploration levels reflected in total HD (5 min). Further research is needed in order to clarify the behavioral effects of this nicotinic agonist in interaction with different environmental conditions. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: insert SI title.
authors: Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: Patricia.Mesa@uv.es.
authors: Patricia
authors: P
authors: Mesa-Gresa
authors: Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: Marta.Ramos@uv.es.
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Ramos-Campos
authors: Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: Rosa.Redolat@uv.es.
authors: Rosa
authors: R
authors: Redolat
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D001549:Benzamides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001643:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004777:Environment; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D001549:Benzamides; D001643:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; C498513:PNU-282987; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
keywords: Alpha 7 nicotinic agonist; Anxiety; Elevated plus maze; Environmental enrichment; Mice; PNU-282987