The effect of different forms of continuous environmental enrichment on the spatial reference memory of 22 middle-aged female CB57BL/6 mice was examined. All mice were socially housed in either standard (social enrichment only) or complex enriched (social and environmental enrichment) cages for 7 weeks. Enhanced spatial memory as tested on the Barnes Maze was observed in the mice experiencing the complex enriched environment. These environmentally enriched mice demonstrated a significantly shorter latency to both find and enter the escape hole, with fewer occurrences of freezing behavior than mice in the social housing group. The combination of enrichment variables improved spatial reference memory more than the single variable in middle-aged mice.

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