Are cognitive effects derived from an early life barren environment reversible? An integrative approach in pigs to understand neuro-epigenetic reversibility

Pigs represent a species of enormous economic importance for humans, ranking as the 2nd most consumed meat source in the world.

Although the effects of the production environment on pig behavior, welfare and cognition have been investigated to some extent, the long-term effects of the production environment on pigs’ social and cognitive development are largely unknown.

Pigs are generally kept in a barren, stimulus-poor environment, which is drastically different from the rich environment experienced in their natural habitat, affecting behavior, welfare, and cognitive development.

Barren housed pigs show lower success in cognitive tasks and increased damaging behavior than pigs housed in enriched environments. These behavioral differences seem to relate to altered gene expression in the brain.

In this project we will combine cognitive science, epigenetics, and animal behavior to assess in pigs the impact of a stimulus-poor (barren) housing environment on cognition, as well as the reversibility of detrimental effects triggered by such an environment.

The knowledge generated in the present proposal will represent a major step forward for the understanding of neurobiological effects of early life exposure to enriched or barren housing environments in pigs.

Moreover, key knowledge gaps such as the degree to which neuro-epigenetic marks can be reversed by stimuli later in life will be addressed in a controlled environment and using state-of-the-art and integrative approaches.