Environmental Enrichment: Neurobiology, affective states, and positive animal welfare

About this Research Topic

Background

Environmental enrichment (EE) is a key strategy for enhancing animal welfare by promoting adaptive capacities across multiple functional systems, including behavior, immunity, and metabolism. In companion animals, enrichment improves emotional stability and mitigates behavioral issues; in farm animals, it enhances adaptability to intensive handling and housing systems; in laboratory animals, it reduces stress-induced physiological responses that may bias experimental outcomes; and in wildlife under human care - such as in zoos - it facilitates the expression of natural behavioral repertoires, reducing stereotypies and improving overall health.

In all these contexts, enrichment strengthens functional capacity, defined as the ability of biological systems to buffer environmental perturbations. This buffering capacity underpins resilience - the animal’s ability to maintain or restore physiological and behavioral stability in response to environmental challenges. In a world where human-animal interaction is increasingly close and constant, implementing environmental enrichment strategies is essential not only to protect physical health, but also to promote mental well-being. Ethically and scientifically, it is imperative to assess and mitigate negative emotional states such as fear, anxiety, frustration, or emotional pain in order to achieve a truly holistic approach to animal welfare.

This Research Topic aims to compile innovative studies that explore environmental enrichment as a neuroethological strategy to promote mental health, positive affective states, and well-being in companion animals, farm animals, laboratory animals, and wildlife under human care (zoos, sanctuaries, and conservation units). An integrative perspective will be emphasized, focusing on the relationship between environmental stimulation and the functional capacity of the animal to respond adaptively to its environment. We especially welcome contributions grounded in neurobiological, physiological, behavioral, and health-based approaches, with a particular focus on resilience, emotional regulation, and the mitigation of negative affective states such as fear, anxiety, frustration, emotional pain and distress.

This collection will prioritize studies that apply non-invasive assessment tools, including artificial intelligence for analyzing facial expressions and body language, infrared thermography, remote physiological monitoring, telemetry, motion-detecting cameras, triaxial accelerometry, GPS collars with activity sensors, automated systems for recording rumination, respiratory rate and heart rate, dynamic weighing platforms, bioacoustics for vocalization analysis, and integrated wearable devices. These technologies allow for the objective, non-intrusive quantification of multiple indicators of both physical and emotional welfare. This initiative seeks to generate solid, multidisciplinary evidence on effective enrichment strategies to support the development of ethical, sustainable, and scientifically validated practices that promote authentic animal welfare in increasingly complex human-animal interfaces.

Key thematic areas include:

• The human as a generator of positive and negative emotional states in animals
• Neurobiological plasticity induced by enrichment: neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and functional remodeling
• Environmental regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
• Interactions between environmental enrichment, resilience, and systemic functional capacity
• Neurodevelopment in enriched contexts: epigenetic and cognitive effects
• Positive affective states and their biomarkers
• Play, exploration, and affiliative behaviors as expressions of emotional welfare
• Prevention of chronic distress through targeted environmental stimulation
• Non-invasive assessment: facial expressions, body posture, behavior, thermal responses, pupillary metrics
• Bioacoustics and the analysis of non-verbal animal communication
• Remote welfare monitoring: physiological sensors, accelerometry, infrared thermography, GPS, and wearable technologies
• Integration of enrichment into the Five Domains model of animal welfare
• Cognitive-emotional enrichment through positive reinforcement training
• Individualized enrichment programs based on neuroethological profiles and personality traits
• Gut-brain-microbiome axis: impact of enrichment on systemic health and emotion
• Enrichment as a tool in animal models of neurological injury: stroke, perinatal ischemia, hypoxia
• Enrichment for neurorehabilitation and neuroprotection
• Evidence-based enrichment strategies in laboratory, farm, companion, and captive wild animals
• Limitations and benefits of enrichment across mammals, birds, and fish
• Multimodal enrichment design: sensory, social, cognitive, physical, and feeding-based stimulation
• Ethical and scientific justification of enrichment as a biological need in companion animals
• Legal frameworks and policy perspectives on environmental enrichment

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Registered Report
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Environmental enrichment, Positive animal welfare, Neuroethology, Mental and physical health, Emotion and behavior, Affective neuroscience, Neuroplasticity, Animal cognition, AI-based welfare monitoring, Non-invasive assessment

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Frequently asked questions

• What is a Research Topic?

  Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

  Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

• Why does Frontiers publish Research Topics? 

  The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

  Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

• Why are Research Topics important for journals?

  As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

  A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

• How do we ensure the quality of articles within Research Topics?

  Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

  In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

• What are the benefits of publishing my article in a Research Topic?

  Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

  As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

  Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

   
• What types of articles can be published in a Research Topic?

  Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

  Check available article types here 

• Can I suggest a new Research Topic? 

  Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

  Suggest your topic here 

• Who leads a Research Topic? 

  A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

  The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

• What is the role of a topic editor?

  As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

   

  You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

• What support will I receive when editing a new Research Topic? 

  As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

• As a junior researcher, can I be involved in editing a Research Topic? 

  If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

• Can I get a certificate for editing a Research Topic?

  Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

• Who will I collaborate with?

  Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

• How long does it take to publish a Research Topic?

  As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

  Find out more about our Research Topics

• What fee support is available to authors publishing in a Research Topic?

  Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

  Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

• Will there be a printed version of my Research Topic?

  In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.