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The Contribution of Environmental Complexity to Phenotypic Variation in Mice and Rats

View ORCID ProfileAmanda C. Kentner, Amanda V. Speno, Joanne Doucette, Ryland C. Roderick
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.11.198705
Amanda C. Kentner
1School of Arts & Sciences, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston Massachusetts, United States 02115
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  • ORCID record for Amanda C. Kentner
  • For correspondence: amanda.kentner@mcphs.edu
Amanda V. Speno
1School of Arts & Sciences, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston Massachusetts, United States 02115
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Joanne Doucette
2Library and Learning Resources, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston Massachusetts, United States 02115
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Ryland C. Roderick
1School of Arts & Sciences, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston Massachusetts, United States 02115
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Abstract

The reproducibility and translation of neuroscience research is assumed to be undermined by introducing environmental complexity and heterogeneity. Rearing laboratory animals with minimal (if any) environmental stimulation is thought to control for biological variability but may not adequately test the robustness of our animal models. Standard laboratory housing is associated with reduced demonstrations of species typical behaviors and changes in neurophysiology that may impact the translation of research results. Moreover, modest increases in environmental enrichment (EE) mitigate against insults used to induce animal models of disease, directly calling into question the translatability of our work and may in part underlie the disconnect between preclinical and clinical research findings. Enhancing environmental stimulation for our model organisms promotes ethological natural behaviors but may simultaneously increase phenotypic trait variability. To test this assumption, we conducted a systematic review and evaluated coefficients of variation between EE and control housed animals. Overall, animals housed in enrichment were not more variable than controls. Therefore, environmental heterogeneity introduced into the laboratory does not compromise data integrity.

Highlights

  • -Environmental complexity is thought to increase phenotypic variability, undermining research translation

  • -We conducted a systematic review to compare between environmentally enriched and control housed animals

  • -Coefficients of variation were evaluated across several phenotypic traits

  • -Animals housed in environmental enrichment were not more variable than controls

  • -We also provide a methodological reporting table for environmental enrichment use in neuroscience research

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted July 12, 2020.
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The Contribution of Environmental Complexity to Phenotypic Variation in Mice and Rats
Amanda C. Kentner, Amanda V. Speno, Joanne Doucette, Ryland C. Roderick
bioRxiv 2020.07.11.198705; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.11.198705
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The Contribution of Environmental Complexity to Phenotypic Variation in Mice and Rats
Amanda C. Kentner, Amanda V. Speno, Joanne Doucette, Ryland C. Roderick
bioRxiv 2020.07.11.198705; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.11.198705

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