Use of social and physical enrichment to improve cognitive abilities of laboratory rats, Rattus norvegicus (684.9)

Abstract

Animal cognition studies capture the interest and imagination of undergraduate students and problem‐solving studies by laboratory animals have a valid utility in research based science education. A group of 36 previously un‐enriched, male, adult (1.5 yr old) laboratory rats, Rattus Norvegicus, were used in this study. 18 (one‐half of the colony) non‐enriched laboratory rats were exposed to each other (rats are housed in groups of 3 per cage) for 30 minutes a day, four days a week, over a three‐month period in a ‘play pen’ arena. The ‘play pen’ consists of a running wheel, wooden chew toys, plastic tunnels and wood shavings. The laboratory rats were returned to their non‐enriched housing after their time in the ‘play pen’. 36 laboratory rats were then placed, individually, in a Morris Water Maze. This study was different from previous enrichment and Morris Water Maze studies because it tested the effect of set, daily social enrichment on rat cognitive ability. This experiment asked if a limited amount of social enrichment decreased thigmotaxis. The preliminary findings of this study indicate that enrichment does increase the rat’s cognitive abilities, which may have implications for how we house and treat laboratory rats.