Specific Effects of Characteristics of Enriched Environment on Innovative Problem Solving by Animals.

Numerous studies have revealed that an enriched environment can enhance the survival-related behaviors and brain functions of animals. However, the effects and specific roles of the enrichment characteristics on animals' innovative capability, a cognitive ability crucial for survival in nature, are still not well known. In this study, we assigned mice to environment-manipulation groups ( = 15 each) to investigate the specific effects of environmental novelty (novel vs.

A meta-analytic study of the effects of early maternal separation on cognitive flexibility in rodent offspring.

Adverse early life experiences, such as maternal separation, are associated with an increased risk for several mental health problems. Symptoms induced by maternal separation that mirror clinically relevant aspects of mental problems, such as cognitive inflexibility, open the possibility of testing putative therapeutics prior to clinical development. Although several animal (e.