Environmental enrichment with nesting material accelerates wound healing in isolation-reared rats

Early enrichment (EE) programs provide a well-established approach to mitigate the deleterious effects of childhood adversity. To better understand the therapeutic features of EE, in the current study we compared the effect of two forms of nesting material on isolation reared (IR) rats. We found that both materials, absent of social and any other physical enrichment, significantly improved wound healing rates. The results suggest that this animal model may provide useful insights into the critical components of EE.

► Impaired healing of isolation reared rats was accelerated by two forms of bedding enrichment.
► The impact on healing of bedding enrichment was comparable to social enrichment.
► This animal model provides a useful approach for studying the beneficial effects of environmental enrichment.