Does Enriched Environment Improve Chronic Immobilization Stress-Induced Cognitive and Behavioral Changes in Adult Male Rats?

Mona A Mohammed, Amira S Ahmed, Fatma M M Salem, Eman S H Abd Allah

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Article in Cellular and molecular neurobiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Mona A MohammedMedical Physiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-5450-3148

Amira S AhmedHistology and Cell Biology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. amira_salem2013@aun.edu.eg.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-5479-2373

Fatma M M SalemMedical Physiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-8201-952X

Eman S H Abd AllahMedical Physiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3370-4827

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Chronic stress induces detrimental effects on cognition, behavior, and hippocampal integrity. An enriched environment (EE) has been shown to enhance learning and memory; however, its role against chronic immobilization stress (CIS)-induced alterations and the underlying mechanisms remain insufficiently explored. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of EE on CIS-induced behavioral, molecular, and structural changes in the hippocampus of adult male rats. Thirty-two adult male Wistar albino rats were assigned to four groups: control, control + EE, CIS, and CIS + EE. Rats were subjected to CIS (4 h/day) followed by EE exposure (2 h/day) for 28 days. Behavioral assessments were conducted. Serum corticosterone levels, hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and mRNA expression of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and glutamate receptors (GluA1 and GluA2) were evaluated. Histopathological, ultrastructural, and immunohistochemical (LC3) examinations were performed. EE significantly ameliorated CIS-induced cognitive and behavioral impairments and restored hippocampal histological and ultrastructural integrity. These effects were associated with reduced serum corticosterone levels, increased hippocampal BDNF levels, and upregulated expression of AQP4, GluA1, and GluA2 mRNA. These findings suggest that EE is a promising non-pharmacological strategy for mitigating stress-induced hippocampal dysfunction and cognitive decline.

Indexed as

Behavior, AnimalCognitionEnvironmentImmobilizationRestraint, PhysicalStress, PsychologicalAnimalsBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCorticosteroneHippocampusMaleRatsRats, WistarBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCorticosteroneChronic immobilization stressCognitive and behavioral changesEnriched environmentHippocampus

Identifiers

PMID41966647

DOI10.1007/s10571-026-01712-y

PMCPMC13076856

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.