PAKISTAN
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Attenuation of Restraint Stress-Induced Behavioral Deficits by Environmental Enrichment in Male Rats
 
Amber Nawaz1,2, Zehra Batool1*, Saara Ahmed3, Saima Khaliq4, Irfan Sajid1,4, Lubna Anis1,4 and Saida Haider1
 
1Neurochemistry and Biochemical Neuropharmacology Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi-75270, Pakistan; 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi-75300, Pakistan; 3Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Agha Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan; 4Department of Biochemistry, Federal Urdu University, Karachi, Pakistan
*Corresponding author:
xehra_batool@yahoo.com
 

Abstract   

Post-exposing the rats to enriched environment has shown to attenuate the psycho-neurological and behavioral deficits produced as a result of chronic stress in rats. But here we studied the possibility whether the pre-exposure of enriched environment might affect the behavioral deficits produced as a post-treatment to chronic restraint stress. Behavioral parameters, associated with chronic stress such as depression, anxiety and memory were monitored before and after stress treatment, in socially enriched and socially non-enriched conditions. According to the results the rats that were pre-exposed to socially enriched conditions indicated an anti-depressive and anxiolytic activity after repeated stress procedure as compared to the rats of socially non-enriched environment. Furthermore, improvement and retention of short term and long term memory was observed in enriched rats before and after restraint stress procedure. This study can be related to the beneficial role of earlier exposure to enriched environment that may affect the behaviors related to response of brain to stress stimuli and prevention of behavioral deficits that may lead to various psychological abnormalities that are related to prolonged stress exposures.

Key words: Anxiety, Depression, Enriched environment, Memory, Stress

 
   

ISSN 0253-8318 (Print)
ISSN 2074-7764 (Online)



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