Grippo Angela J, Ihm Elliott, Wardwell Joshua, McNeal Neal, Scotti Melissa-Ann L, Moenk Deirdre A, Chandler Danielle L, LaRocca Meagan A, Preihs Kristin
From the Department of Psychology (A.J.G., E.I., J.W., N.M., M.-A.L.S., D.A.M., D.L.C., M.A.LaR., K.P.), Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois; and Department of Psychiatry and Brain-Body Center (M.-A.L.S.), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
Psychosom Med. 2014 May;76(4):277-84. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000052.
Social isolation is associated with depression, anxiety, and negative health outcomes. Environmental enrichment, including environmental and cognitive stimulation with inanimate objects and opportunities for physical exercise, may be an effective strategy to include in treatment paradigms for affective disorders as a function of social isolation. In a rodent model-the socially monogamous prairie vole-we investigated the hypothesis that depression- and anxiety-related behaviors after social isolation would be prevented and remediated with environmental enrichment.
Experiment 1 investigated the preventive effects of environmental enrichment on negative affective behaviors when administered concurrently with social isolation. Experiment 2 investigated the remediating effects of enrichment on negative affective behaviors when administered after a period of isolation. Behaviors were measured in three operational tests: open field, forced swim test (FST), and elevated plus maze.
In isolated prairie voles, enrichment prevented depression-relevant (immobility in FST, group × housing interaction, p = .049) and anxiety-relevant behaviors (exploration in open field, group × housing interaction, p = .036; exploration in elevated plus maze, group × housing interaction, p = .049). Delayed enrichment also remediated these behaviors in isolated animals (immobility in FST, main effect of housing, p = .001; exploration in open field, main effect of housing, p = .047; exploration in elevated plus maze, main effect of housing, p = .001) and was slightly more effective than physical exercise alone in remediating anxiety-relevant behaviors.
These findings provide insight into the beneficial effects of an enriched environment on depression- and anxiety-relevant behaviors using a translational rodent model of social isolation.
社会隔离与抑郁、焦虑及不良健康后果相关。环境富集，包括利用无生命物体进行环境和认知刺激以及提供体育锻炼机会，可能是一种有效的策略，可纳入情感障碍治疗模式中，作为社会隔离的一项功能。在一种啮齿动物模型——社会一夫一妻制的草原田鼠中，我们研究了这样一个假设，即社会隔离后与抑郁和焦虑相关的行为可通过环境富集来预防和改善。
实验1研究了环境富集与社会隔离同时实施时对负面情感行为的预防作用。实验2研究了在一段时间的隔离后实施富集对负面情感行为的改善作用。在三项操作性测试中测量行为：旷场试验、强迫游泳试验（FST）和高架十字迷宫试验。
在隔离的草原田鼠中，富集预防了与抑郁相关的行为（FST中的不动时间，组×饲养方式交互作用，p = .049）和与焦虑相关的行为（旷场试验中的探索，组×饲养方式交互作用，p = .036；高架十字迷宫试验中的探索，组×饲养方式交互作用，p = .049）。延迟富集也改善了隔离动物的这些行为（FST中的不动时间，饲养方式主效应，p = .001；旷场试验中的探索，饲养方式主效应，p = .047；高架十字迷宫试验中的探索，饲养方式主效应，p = .001），并且在改善与焦虑相关的行为方面比单独的体育锻炼略有效。
这些发现利用社会隔离的转化啮齿动物模型，深入了解了丰富环境对与抑郁和焦虑相关行为的有益影响。
