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The Use of the Puzzle Box as a Means of Assessing the Efficacy of Environmental Enrichment
Published on: December 29, 2014
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Lockbox enrichment facilitates manipulative and cognitive activities for mice
Katharina Hohlbaum1,2, Niek Andresen2,3,4, Paul Mieske1,2,3
1German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, 12277, Germany.
Open Research Europe
|September 11, 2024
Summary
Introducing novel lockbox enrichment for laboratory mice, this study found it beneficial for their affective state and problem-solving skills without negatively impacting their phenotype or data reproducibility. These open-source lockboxes offer a new way to assess mouse cognition.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior research
- Laboratory animal science
- Cognitive ethology
Background:
- Conventional housing limits laboratory mice's behavioral repertoire.
- Mechanical puzzles, termed lockboxes, were developed for home cage enrichment.
- This study compared lockbox enrichment (LE) to conventional housing (CH) and super-environmental enrichment (SEE).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of lockbox enrichment on mouse phenotype and affective state.
- To compare the effects of LE, SEE, and CH on behavioral and physiological variables.
- To assess the utility of lockboxes for evaluating sequential problem-solving abilities in mice.
Main Methods:
- Young adult female C57BL/6JCrl mice were housed in CH, SEE, or LE conditions for two months.
- A phenotyping test battery assessed anxiety-related behavior, metabolism, stress hormones, and problem-solving.
- Adrenal gland weight and pathohistology were analyzed; relative variability of continuous variables was calculated.
Main Results:
- Lockbox enrichment improved sequential problem-solving performance compared to super-environmental enrichment.
- Trait anxiety-related behavior was affected by enrichment type, but state anxiety and physiological variables remained unchanged.
- No toxicopathological effects were observed from lockbox materials; relative variability increased over time, with decreased coefficients of variation in LE groups.
Conclusions:
- Lockbox enrichment (LE) positively influences laboratory mice's affective state and novel problem-solving skills.
- LE does not compromise mouse phenotype or data reproducibility, similar to SEE.
- Open-source lockboxes provide a valuable tool for assessing mouse cognition and enrichment.
