The promoting effect of environmental enrichment during development on social behavior in mice: a potential amygdala involvement mechanism

Objective: Social behavior is a complex social trait in the survival of animals, influenced by their own states and the environment. The basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) has been confirmed to play a key role in the regulation of social behavior, but how environmental factors affect social behavior and the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the effects of environmental enrichment experienced during the developmental period on the social behavior of male mice and the possible changes in BLA synaptic transmission induced thereby. Methods: The three-chamber social behavior test and ex vivo patch-clamp technique were used to investigate the social behavior and BLA pyramidal neurons of 21-day-old male Kunming mice after continuous exposure to environmental enrichment for 5 weeks...