Biomaterial Database

Facilitative effects of maternal environmental enrichment on maze learning in rat offspring. 1985

S Kiyono, and M L Seo, and M Shibagaki, and M Inouye

Pregnant rats were differentially reared in enriched (EC), impoverished (IC), and standard colony conditions (SC) through the pregnancy. Half of the male offspring were reared by their biological mothers and the remaining half were reared by foster-mothers. After weaning male offspring were tested in the Hebb-Williams maze apparatus. The effect of environment was significant for the total error scores; the EC group had less errors than the IC group. In a second experiment all male offspring (EC, SC and IC) were reared by foster-mothers. The effect of environment was significant for initial, repetitive, and total error scores. Further analysis revealed that the EC-SC and EC-IC differences were significant, whereas the IC-SC difference was not. Thus, the results obtained were the first to reveal that maternal environmental enrichment during pregnancy can exert a facilitatory influence on the postnatal maze learning abilities of the offspring.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007858	Learning	Relatively permanent change in behavior that is the result of past experience or practice. The concept includes the acquisition of knowledge.	Phenomenography
D009929	Organ Size	The measurement of an organ in volume, mass, or heaviness.	Organ Volume,Organ Weight,Size, Organ,Weight, Organ
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011270	Pregnancy, Animal	The process of bearing developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero in non-human mammals, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Animal Pregnancies,Animal Pregnancy,Pregnancies, Animal
D011297	Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects	The consequences of exposing the FETUS in utero to certain factors, such as NUTRITION PHYSIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA; PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS; DRUGS; RADIATION; and other physical or chemical factors. These consequences are observed later in the offspring after BIRTH.	Delayed Effects, Prenatal Exposure,Late Effects, Prenatal Exposure
D011340	Problem Solving	A learning situation involving more than one alternative from which a selection is made in order to attain a specific goal.
D011916	Rats, Inbred F344	An inbred strain of rat that is used for general BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH purposes.	Fischer Rats,Rats, Inbred CDF,Rats, Inbred Fischer 344,Rats, F344,Rats, Inbred Fisher 344,CDF Rat, Inbred,CDF Rats, Inbred,F344 Rat,F344 Rat, Inbred,F344 Rats,F344 Rats, Inbred,Inbred CDF Rat,Inbred CDF Rats,Inbred F344 Rat,Inbred F344 Rats,Rat, F344,Rat, Inbred CDF,Rat, Inbred F344,Rats, Fischer
D001835	Body Weight	The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.	Body Weights,Weight, Body,Weights, Body
D001921	Brain	The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.	Encephalon
D003712	Dendrites	Extensions of the nerve cell body. They are short and branched and receive stimuli from other NEURONS.	Dendrite