Inanimate environmental enrichment for group-housed rhesus macaque infants

The behavior of peer-reared infant rhesus macaques raised in enriched and nonenriched housing conditions was examined in order to evaluate the utility and effectiveness of object enrichment in a group housing setting. Environmental enrichment consisted of apparatuses designed to promote motor activity and to provide response-contingent feedback. Four animals in each condition were tested over a 14-month period. Behavioral observations were conducted in the home cage and during several test situations specifically designed to assess behavioral and affective responses to novelty and mild stressors. Monkeys in the enriched condition exhibited fewer behavioral and affective signs of disturbance than control infants in all observation conditions.