Objectives Social isolation is associated with depression, anxiety and negative health outcomes. Environmental enrichment, including environmental and cognitive stimulation with inanimate objects and opportunities for physical exercise, may be an effective strategy to include in treatment paradigms for affective disorders as a function of social isolation. In a rodent model – the socially monogamous prairie vole – we investigated the hypothesis that depression- and anxiety-related behaviors following social isolation would be prevented and remediated with environmental enrichment. Methods Experiment 1 investigated the preventive effects of environmental enrichment on negative affective behaviors when administered concurrently with social isolation. Experiment 2 investigated the remediating effects of enrichment on negative affective behaviors when administered following a period of isolation. Behaviors were measured in 3 operational tests: open field; forced swim test; and elevated plus maze. Results In isolated prairie voles, enrichment prevented depression- (immobility in FST, group × housing interaction, P=0.049) and anxiety-relevant behaviors (exploration in open field, group × housing interaction, P=0.036; exploration in elevated plus maze, group × housing interaction, P=0.049). Delayed enrichment also remediated these behaviors in isolated animals (immobility in forced swim test, main effect of housing, P=0.001; exploration in open field, main effect of housing, P=0.047; exploration in elevated plus maze, main effect of housing, P=0.001), and was slightly more effective than physical exercise alone in remediating anxiety-relevant behaviors. Conclusions These findings provide insight into the beneficial effects of an enriched environment on depression- and anxiety-relevant behaviors using a translational rodent model of social isolation.

EE and re-pairing reversed the negative behavioral and cardiovascular consequences associated with social isolation.

Improved understanding of how depression and social isolation interact to increase cardiac morbidity and mortality will improve public health. This experiment evaluated the effect of pharmacological autonomic blockade on cardiac and behavioral reactivity following social isolation in prairie voles. Experiment 1 validated the dose and time course of pharmacological autonomic antagonism of peripheral β-adrenergic (atenolol) and muscarinic cholinergic receptors (atropine methyl nitrate), and Experiment 2 used a novel protocol to investigate behavioral responses in the tail suspension test during pharmacological autonomic blockade as a function of social isolation (vs. paired control). Prairie voles isolated for 4 weeks (vs. paired) displayed significantly elevated heart rate and reduced heart rate variability. Autonomic receptor antagonism by atenolol led to exaggerated reductions in heart rate and standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals, and lower amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia in the isolated group (vs. paired). Administration of atropine led to an attenuated increase in heart rate in the isolated group (vs. paired), and similar near-zero levels of respiratory sinus arrhythmia amplitude in both groups. During the tail suspension test, isolated animals (vs. paired) displayed significantly greater immobility. In paired animals, atenolol administration did not influence immobility; atropine administration increased the duration of immobility (vs. vehicle). In isolated animals, atenolol administration increased the duration of immobility; atropine did not influence immobility duration (vs. vehicle). The current study contributes to our understanding of differential effects of social isolation and autonomic imbalance on cardiac and behavioral reactivity.

Negative social experiences influence both depression and cardiovascular dysfunction. Many individuals who experience negative mood states or cardiovascular conditions have limited social support. Therefore, investigation of drug treatments that may protect against the consequences of social stress will aid in designing effective treatment strategies. The current study used an animal model to evaluate the protective effect of sertraline administration on behavioral and cardiovascular consequences of social stress. Specifically, male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), which are socially monogamous rodents that share several behavioral and physiological characteristics with humans, were isolated from a socially-bonded female partner, and treated with sertraline (16 mg/kg/day, ip) or vehicle during isolation. Unexpectedly, sertraline did not protect against depression-relevant behaviors, and it was associated with increased shortand long-term heart rate responses. However, sertraline administration improved heart rate variability recovery following a behavioral stressor, including increased parasympathetic regulation, and altered long-term neuronal activity in brain regions that modulate autonomic control and stress reactivity. These results indicate that sertraline may partially protect against the consequences of social stressors, and suggest a mechanism through which sertraline may beneficially influence neurobiological control of cardiac function.