ArticlePLoS biology2018
Laboratory mouse housing conditions can be improved using common environmental enrichment without compromising data.
Article in PLoS biology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Conventional laboratory housing increases morbidity and mortality in research rodents: results of a meta-analysis.BMC biology · 2022Pooled it
- Association between cagemate number and risk of death in mice: a time-varying covariate analysis using Cox frailty models.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Impact of Bedding Volume on Cage Microclimate and Behavior in 129SV and Desmin-Knockout (Des-/-) Mice.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Enzymatic Synergy-Driven Biotransformation Generates a Postbiotic-Rich Functional Matrix That Reprograms Gut Microbiota Metabolic Pathways Under Stress Conditions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Article
- Biological characteristics of age-related changes in C57BL/6 mice sub-strains in the national center for geriatrics and gerontology aging farm.Experimental animals · 2025Article
- Characterization of Reusable and Recyclable Plastic Bedding Materials for Laboratory Mice.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Physiological responses of wild birds to artificial grass during introduction to laboratory housing.PeerJ · 2025Article
- Enriched housing differentially alters allostatic load and cardiopulmonary responses to wildfire-related smoke in male and female mice.Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A · 2024Article
- Lockbox enrichment facilitates manipulative and cognitive activities for mice.Open research Europe · 2024Article
- Deletion of SERF2 in mice delays embryonic development and alters amyloid deposit structure in the brain.Life science alliance · 2023Article
- Research Animal Behavioral Management Programs for the 21st Century.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Review
- Article
- Comparative analysis between Open Field and Elevated Plus Maze tests as a method for evaluating anxiety-like behavior in mice.Heliyon · 2023Article
- Enriched environment-induced neuroplasticity in ischemic stroke and its underlying mechanisms.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2023Review
- Rating enrichment items by female group-housed laboratory mice in multiple binary choice tests using an RFID-based tracking system.PloS one · 2023Article
- Effect of Bedding Substrates on Blood Glucose and Body Weight in Mice.Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS · 2022Article
- Environmental Enrichment Differentially Activates Neural Circuits in FVB/N Mice, Inducing Social Interaction in Females but Agonistic Behavior in Males.Neurochemical research · 2022Article
- Environmental Enrichment for Rats and Mice Housed in Laboratories: A Metareview.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
28 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Animal welfare requires the adequate housing of animals to ensure health and well-being. The application of environmental enrichment is a way to improve the well-being of laboratory animals. However, it is important to know whether these enrichment items can be incorporated in experimental mouse husbandry without creating a divide between past and future experimental results. Previous small-scale studies have been inconsistent throughout the literature, and it is not yet completely understood whether and how enrichment might endanger comparability of results of scientific experiments. Here, we measured the effect on means and variability of 164 physiological parameters in 3 conditions: with nesting material with or without a shelter, comparing these 2 conditions to a "barren" regime without any enrichments. We studied a total of 360 mice from each of 2 mouse strains (C57BL/6NTac and DBA/2NCrl) and both sexes for each of the 3 conditions. Our study indicates that enrichment affects the mean values of some of the 164 parameters with no consistent effects on variability. However, the influence of enrichment appears negligible compared to the effects of other influencing factors. Therefore, nesting material and shelters may be used to improve animal welfare without impairment of experimental outcome or loss of comparability to previous data collected under barren housing conditions.
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Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.