PMID- 30007130
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20181227
LR  - 20181227
IS  - 1879-0054 (Electronic)
IS  - 0739-7240 (Linking)
VI  - 65
DP  - 2018 Oct
TI  - Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in serum as an animal welfare indicator of 
      environmental enrichment in pigs.
PG  - 67-70
LID - S0739-7240(18)30049-3 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.domaniend.2018.05.007 [doi]
AB  - Environment enrichment is a rising topic for animal welfare but measures to 
      identify effective enrichment interventions are lacking. In humans and rodent 
      species, environmental enrichment increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor 
      (BDNF), the most abundant neurotrophin in the brain. Higher BDNF concentration is 
      ultimately linked to higher stress resilience, and BDNF in the hippocampus 
      enhances learning and memory. In addition, BDNF concentrations in the brain and 
      blood are correlated, offering the opportunity to use peripheral BDNF as a 
      minimally invasive measure of effective enrichment reflecting neural changes. 
      This study investigated changes in serum BDNF following the provision of 
      environmental enrichment to pigs. Pigs were housed in different environments 
      during lactation (enriched vs barren) and after weaning (enriched vs barren), 
      using a 2 x 2 factorial design and the provision of a foraging block as 
      enrichment. Pigs provided with foraging enrichment during lactation or after 
      weaning tended to have higher serum BDNF concentrations than pigs housed in a 
      barren environment, and this effect was significant for pigs enriched during 
      lactation when sampled 5 wk after weaning. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor 
      concentration reduced as the pigs aged from 3 to 11 wk. The measurement of BDNF 
      in serum brings a practical approach to study the effects of environmental 
      enrichment on neurobiological changes in domestic animals. A better understanding 
      of the factors modulating BDNF and its link to welfare states could bring insight 
      into the benefits of stimulating an animal's life.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
FAU - Rault, J-L
AU  - Rault JL
AD  - Institute of Animal Husbandry and Animal Welfare, University of Veterinary 
      Medicine, Vienna, A-1210, Austria; Animal Welfare Science Centre, University of 
      Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, VIC 3010, Australia. Electronic address: 
      jean-loup.rault@vetmeduni.ac.at.
FAU - Lawrence, A J
AU  - Lawrence AJ
AD  - Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 
      Melbourne, Victoria, VIC 3010, Australia.
FAU - Ralph, C R
AU  - Ralph CR
AD  - South Australian Research and Development Institute, Urrbrae, South Australia, SA 
      5371, Australia.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20180604
PL  - United States
TA  - Domest Anim Endocrinol
JT  - Domestic animal endocrinology
JID - 8505191
RN  - 0 (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor)
SB  - IM
MH  - Aging
MH  - *Animal Welfare
MH  - Animals
MH  - Behavior, Animal
MH  - Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/*blood
MH  - *Environment
MH  - Female
MH  - Housing, Animal
MH  - Lactation/physiology
MH  - Sus scrofa/*blood/physiology
MH  - Weaning
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - BDNF
OT  - Environmental enrichment
OT  - Foraging
OT  - Neurotrophin
OT  - Swine
EDAT- 2018/07/15 06:00
MHDA- 2018/12/28 06:00
CRDT- 2018/07/15 06:00
PHST- 2018/02/23 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2018/04/20 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2018/05/25 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2018/07/15 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2018/12/28 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2018/07/15 06:00 [entrez]
AID - S0739-7240(18)30049-3 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.domaniend.2018.05.007 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Domest Anim Endocrinol. 2018 Oct;65:67-70. doi: 10.1016/j.domaniend.2018.05.007. 
      Epub 2018 Jun 4.