Basic study for the development of a new health strategy utilizing environmental enrichment
Description: We investigated the effect of acoustic environmental enrichment (EE) on the lifespans and behaviours of mice to the end of their natural lifespan in different acoustic environments. Acoustic EE induced a significantly prolonged natural lifespan (nearly 17% longer) and was associated with increased voluntary movements. However, no correlation between lifespan and voluntary movements was detected, suggesting that increased voluntary movements are not a primary cause of lifespan prolongation. Analyses of individual differences in lifespan demonstrated that lifespan extension induced by acoustic EE could be related to changes in social relationships (e.g., reduction of social conflict) among individuals kept within a cage. Therefore, an acoustic component may be an important factor inducing the positive effects of EE.
Amount: ¥6,500,000
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
Start date: 2017-06-30
End date: 2019-03-31
Investigator: Manabu HONDA
Institution: National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry
Funded outputs count: 1
Funder award ID: 17K19947
OpenAlex ID: G885264168