Environmental Enrichment Prevents Methamphetamine-Induced Spatial Memory Deficits and Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior in Rats

This study was designed to examine the effect of environmental enrichment during methamphetamine (METH) dependency and withdrawal on methamphetamine-induced spatial learning and memory deficits and obsessive-compulsive behavior.
Adult male Wistar rats (200 ± 10 g) chronically received bi-daily doses of METH (2 mg/kg, sc, with 12 hours intervals) for 14 days. Rats reared in standard (SE) or enriched environment (EE) during the development of dependence on METH and withdrawal. Then, they were tested for spatial learning and memory (the water maze), and obsessive-compulsive behavior as grooming behavior in METH-withdrawn rats.
The results revealed that the Sal/EE and METH/EE rats reared in EE spent more time in the target zone on the water maze and displayed significantly increased proximity to the platform compared to their control groups. METH withdrawn rats reared in EE displayed less grooming behavior than METH/SE group.
Our findings revealed EE ameliorates METH-induced spatial memory deficits and obsessive-compulsive behavior in rats.