O estudo da ocupação do espaço, bem como o modo de utilização dos itens de enriquecimento ambiental são ferramentas fundamentais para medir a adequação do ambiente e dos níveis de bem-estar de gatos domésticos (Felis silvestris catus) mantidos em cativeiro. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o padrão de ocupação dos animais no recinto, antes do enriquecimento, na condição Controle e após a introdução de itens de enriquecimento ambientais físicos: Permanente de uso Coletivo, Temporário de uso Coletivo e Temporário de uso Restrito, que atuaram subdividindo as áreas do ambiente e renovando os locais já conhecidos pelos animais. Foram utilizados 31 gatos domésticos, que passaram pelos testes comportamentais, registrando-se, por meio de filmagens, ao longo dos 10 dias de observações/por teste: o local de ocupaçaao (área de piso ou elevada) e os comportamentos realizados pelos animais. Os resultados mostraram que o padrão de ocupaçãao dos animais no recinto se deu com uma maior utilização das áreas elevadas em relação às áreas de piso, tanto na condiçãao Controle, como após a introdução dos itens de enriquecimento ambiental. Dentre os itens utilizados, e suas diferentes formas de aplicação, houve uma maior frequência de interação por parte dos indivíduos com o item temporário de uso coletivo, que atuou como barreira visual, promovendo a subdivisão das áreas do recinto e uma ocupação mais homogênea dos animais no espaço disponível. O tempo de permanência dos animais na área interna ao item temporário de uso restrito, foi significativamente maior em relação à permanência dos mesmos na área externa ao item, que além de enriquecer o ambiente, foi utilizado como refúgio pelos indivíduos. Os dados também revelaram que a colônia estudada possui uma organização social para a interação, bem como para a realização de compartilhamentos dos itens de enriquecimento com os outros animais. Concluímos que por meio de observações da ocupação do espaço, assim como, através do modo de utilização dos itens de enriquecimento ambiental pelos indivíduos, podemos acessar informações sobre as preferências e as necessidades biológicas dos animais, adequando o seu habitat e aumentando os níveis de bem-estar da espécie em questão. / The study of space occupation, as well as how to use the items of environmental enrichment are fundamental tools to measure the suitability of the environment and the level of welfare of domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) kept in captivity. This study aimed to evaluate the pattern of occupation of the animals in the enclosure, before enrichment, in control condition and after the introduction of physical environmental enrichment items: Permanent Collective use, Temporary Collective use and Temporary Restricted use who acted subdividing areas environment and renewing the places already known by the animals. We used 31 domestic cats, which passed by behavioral tests, registering through filming, over the 10 days of observations / per test: the place of occupation (floor or elevated areas) and behaviors performed by animals. The results showed that the pattern of occupation of the animals in the enclosure occurred with greater use of elevated areas in relation to floor areas, both in the control condition, and after the introduction of environmental enrichment items. Among the items used, and different forms of application, there was a higher frequency of interaction by individuals with temporary collective use item, which acted as a visual barrier, promoting the breakdown of the areas of the enclosure and a more homogeneous occupation of animals the available space. The time spent in the inner area of the animals to temporary restricted use item, was significantly higher in relation to the permanence in the outdoor area of the same item, which besides enriching the environment, was used as a refuge by individuals. The data also show that colony has a social interaction, as well as to perform the enrichment items shares with the other animals. We conclude that through observations of space occupation, as well as, through the mode of use of environmental enrichment items by individuals can access information about the preferences and biological needs of the animals, adapting their habitat and increasing levels of welfare the species in question.

No description available.

<p>The brain serotonergic and dopaminergic systems broadly influence our internal experience and the ways in which we interact with the outside environment, with crucial regulatory roles in mood, sleep, appetite and the control of voluntary movement. Serotonin and dopamine neurons are themselves influenced by a wide variety of internal and external factors, many of which remain poorly understood. The central aim of this thesis was to better characterize several of these modulatory influences via exploratory investigations involving pharmaceutical agents or environmental modification. Specifically, I examined the modulatory effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), atypical neuroleptics and environmental enrichment with exercise on the regulation of brain serotonin and dopamine neurons.</p> <p>This thesis documents, for the first time, that (1) inhibition of the serotonin transporter (SERT) by SSRIs induces a rapid and region-selective reduction of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH)-immunoreactive neurons in serotonergic brainstem nuclei that persists over a prolonged treatment course; that (2) selective blockade of SERT by SSRIs can rapidly induce a reduction of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) that, again, persists over a lengthy treatment course; that (3) environmental enrichment with exercise can potentiate the effect of SERT inhibition on SN dopaminergic neurons, but not the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) serotonergic neurons; that (4) that SSRI fluoxetine triggers a significant upregulation of microglia in the SN; that (5) environmental enrichment with exercise can reduce TPH immunoreactivity in the DRN and TH immunoreactivity in the SN and VTA, even in the absence of any pharmacological intervention, and finally, that (6) the atypical neuroleptic risperidone significantly reduces TPH in the DRN of both young and aged animals and reduces DRN Nissl counts in aged animals. Taken together, the body of work included in this thesis suggests that SSRIs, atypical neuroleptics and environmental enrichment with exercise can have profound effects on brain serotonergic and dopaminergic neurons, possibly accounting for some of the side effects and therapeutic benefits associated with these interventions.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p dir="ltr">To meet the growing demands for pork products, lactating sows are often housed in farrowing crates to reduce piglet crushing. However, the public has raised welfare concerns about farrowing crate systems due to the confinement and barren environment, which can impair social interactions between sow and piglets, change their activity levels, and alter how sows and piglets satisfy their motivated behaviors to chew and explore by oral manipulation of pen and pen mates. Barren and confined environments can result in skin abrasions caused by oral manipulations and fighting, physiological stress, inactivity, and abnormal behaviors, which can have an impact on sows’ and piglets’ welfare, productivity, and behavior. Previous work on environmental enrichments has shown promise to improve average daily gain, activity levels, stress, and behavioral repertoire. However, the majority of studies on pig environmental enrichments take place after weaning and research investigating the impact enrichments have during lactation is limited. In addition, research on maximizing the use of environmental enrichments based on the location inside the farrowing crate systems has not been conducted. To address the knowledge gaps concerning the impact of the location of environmental enrichments on the welfare, behavior, and productivity of sows and piglets in farrowing crate systems and to provide educational material on pig enrichment, this dissertation consists of two parts: Chapters 2 and 3 examine the effects of the location of environmental enrichments in farrowing crate systems on sows’ and piglet’s welfare, productivity, and behavior. Chapter 5 is an extension article on the different types of environmental enrichments and the best strategies for implementing enrichment in swine operations.</p><p dir="ltr">In Chapter 2, sows (n = 37) and focal piglets (n = 148) were assigned to three treatment groups: SPE (both sows and piglets had access to enrichment objects), PE (only piglets had access to enrichment objects), and CON (control group with no enrichment) blocked by sow parity and genetics. Sow posture and piglet behavior during the lactation and nursery phases were observed at various times after birth and weaning. Environmental enrichments significantly influenced the behaviors of suckling piglets, reducing pig-directed and agonistic behaviors. Piglets with enrichments tended to explore the pen less and engage in more social behaviors. The location of enrichments also impacted behaviors, with higher nursing behavior observed during mid-lactation for piglets with access to enrichments (PE) and increased interaction with enrichments when they were accessible to both sows and piglets (SPE). Treatment did not affect sow postural changes or most nursery behaviors, except for walking, which increased in SPE nursery piglets compared to CON piglets. Overall, the study demonstrated positive effects of environmental enrichments on suckling piglets in farrowing crate systems, highlighting the importance of enrichment placement on nursing behaviors and enrichment interaction.</p><p dir="ltr">In Chapter 3, the same sows and piglets were used to investigate the effects of enrichment location on the welfare (skin lesions, pressure sores, salivary cortisol, and tear stains) and performance (average daily gain and piglet crushing) of the sows and piglets. This study used the same animals that were assigned the treatment group, housing, and management practices from Chapter 2. Salivary cortisol samples were collected from sows at four time points: 24 hours after moving into farrowing crates, 24 hours after treatment group assignment, midway between moving into crates and weaning, and on the day of weaning. Pressure sores of sows were scored on days 1, 4, 7, 10, 14, and 17 after farrowing. For suckling piglets, tear stains and skin lesions were assessed on the same days, and their average daily gain (ADG) was analyzed weekly during lactation. In the nursery phase, salivary cortisol was collected from piglets on the day of weaning and days 1, 7, and 14 post-weaning, with tear stains and skin lesions measured on those days as well. Nursery ADG was analyzed from weaning to day 14 post-weaning. Results indicated that control (CON) sows were less likely to have no pressure sores compared to sows with shared (SPE) enrichments, while piglets in the enriched treatment groups (PE and SPE) had smaller tear stain areas than those in the CON group. Treatment influenced skin lesions in suckling piglets, with enriched piglets having fewer lesions in the ear and front body regions. There was no treatment effect on salivary cortisol for both sows and nursery piglets, nor did treatment affect ADG, piglet crushing, or nursery skin lesions. The provision of environmental enrichments in farrowing crates reduced pressure sores of sows, skin lesions of suckling piglets and tear stains of suckling and nursery piglets.</p><p dir="ltr">Overall, providing environmental enrichments to suckling piglets reduced aggression, as evidenced by fewer agonistic and pig-directed behaviors, and resulted in fewer skin lesions compared to piglets without enrichments. This suggests potentially reduced stress levels in enriched piglets, indicated by smaller tear stain areas. While most behaviors and skin lesion scores showed no significant differences during the nursery phase, enriched piglets continued to have smaller tear stains. Enrichment location influenced the following: sows had fewer pressure sores, and suckling piglets interacted more with enrichments and exhibited fewer pig-directed behaviors when enrichments were accessible to both sows and piglets compared to the only piglet enriched treatment group. Piglets with access only to enrichments also performed more nursing behaviors during mid-lactation compared to the control group. Overall, the study highlights the benefits of environmental enrichments in farrowing crate systems, particularly the positive impact of enrichment location on the welfare and behavior of sows and piglets.</p><p dir="ltr">Lastly, in Chapter 5, the extension article discusses the definition of environmental enrichment and its impact on pigs’ welfare. The article also delves into the five types of environmental enrichments (nutritional, occupational, physical, sensory, and social), providing examples of each. Additionally, the article offers five practical tips for efficiently and successfully implementing environmental enrichments in swine herds.</p>

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Stephen W. Kiefer / Exposing rats to differential rearing conditions, during early post-weaning development, has been shown to produce changes in a number of behaviors displayed during adulthood. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether rearing alcohol-preferring (P) and non-preferring (NP) rats in an environmental enrichment condition (EC), a social condition (SC), or an impoverished condition (IC) would differentially affect the consumption of and operant responding for 10% ethanol. In Experiment 1 rats were tested for both limited access and free access (two bottle choice between water and ethanol) consumption of 10% ethanol. For, Experiment 2 rats were trained to respond in an operant chamber for ethanol and then provided concurrent access to 10% ethanol (right lever) and water (left lever). After concurrent access, rats were required to respond over a gradually increasing fixed-ratio schedule for 10% ethanol and finally a progressive ratio schedule for 10% ethanol, 15% ethanol, and 10% sucrose. For Experiment 3 rats were trained to respond for 10% sucrose and then assessed for the maintenance of operant responding for 10% sucrose. The data from this series of experiments shows that EC P rats consumed, responded for, and preferred 10% ethanol significantly less than their IC P counterparts. Also, EC P rats did not significantly differ from NP rats during any aspect of testing for all experiments. Experiment 3 failed to reveal a significant effect of rearing although there was a line effect that has been previously observed in the literature. Thus, it would appear from these results that rearing in an EC condition acts to protect alcohol-preferring rats from increased levels of consumption of, preference for, and responding for ethanol compared to rearing in an impoverished environment.

No description available.

Eating disorders are serious psychological disorders associated with debilitating lifestyle, multiple health problems and high rates of suicidality and mortality. Despite extensive research, the aetiology of eating disorders still remains unclear. Amongst the identified risk factors for eating disorders, stress has been frequently studied. The purpose of the present study was to explore the possibility that tail-pinch administered to rats could provide an animal model of stress-induced eating disturbances in humans, and whether environmental enrichment might ameliorate the effects of stress. In Experiment 1, we compared eating behaviours of rats that were reared in either enriched or standard environments and later exposed to tail-pinch and allowed to eat when food deprived. The study showed that a single exposure to tail-pinch induced eating disturbances in most of the rats. When rats were not food deprived, but were conditioned to eating when placed in test chamber, tail-pinch suppressed eating in all rats, but significantly more for rats reared under standard than in enriched conditions. Experiment 2 used a between-subjects design in which rats were reared in either a standard or enriched environment, and were either exposed to tail-pinch or not exposed during sessions in which they were not food deprived and allowed to eat. Tail-pinch suppressed the food intake of rats reared in enriched but not standard environments. Although this finding appeared to contradict results of Experiment 1, analysis of body weight revealed that exposure to tail pinch suppressed increases in weight gain across sessions more for rats reared in standard than enriched environments. The suppression of food intake during test sessions for enriched but not standard rats exposed to tail-pinch was attributed to differences in contextual conditioning and discrimination of the test chamber from home cages. Overall, results of the present study suggest that rats reared in enriched environments were more resilient to the effects of tail-pinch as a stressor. Implications of these findings for the understanding of human eating disorders are discussed.

Introduction: Chez les mammifères, la naissance de nouveaux neurones se poursuit à l’âge adulte dans deux régions du cerveau: 1) l’hippocampe et 2) la zone sous-ventriculaire du prosencéphale. La neurogenèse adulte n’est pas un processus stable et peut être affectée par divers facteurs tels que l’âge et la maladie. De plus, les modifications de la neurogenèse peuvent être à l’origine des maladies de sorte que la régulation ainsi que le rétablissement de la neurogenèse adulte doivent être considérés comme d’importants objectifs thérapeutiques. Chez la souris saine ou malade, la neurogenèse hippocampale peut être fortement régulée par l’enrichissement environnemental ainsi que par l’activité physique. Cependant, lors même que l’activité physique et l’enrichissement environnemental pourraient contribuer au traitement de certaines maladies, très peu d’études porte sur les mécanismes moléculaires et physiologiques responsables des changements qui sont en lien avec ces stimuli. Objectifs et hypothèses: Les principaux objectifs de cette étude sont de caractériser les effets de stimuli externes sur la neurogenèse et, par le fait même, d’élucider les mécanismes sous-jacents aux changements observés. En utilisant le modèle d’activité physique volontaire sur roue, cette étude teste les deux hypothèses suivantes: tout d’abord 1) qu’une période prolongée d’activité physique peut influencer la neurogenèse adulte dans le prosencéphale et l’hippocampe, et 2) que l’activité volontaire sur roue peut favoriser la neurogenèse à travers des stimuli dépendants ou indépendants de la course. Méthodes: Afin de valider la première hypothèse, nous avons utilisé un paradigme incluant une activité physique volontaire prolongée sur une durée de six semaines, ainsi que des analyses immunohistochimiques permettant de caractériser l’activité de précurseurs neuronaux dans la zone sous-ventriculaire et l’hippocampe. Ensuite, pour valider la seconde hypothèse, nous avons utlisé une version modifiée du paradigme ci-dessous, en plaçant les animaux (souris) soit dans des cages traditionnelles, soit dans des cages munies d’une roue bloquée soit dans des cages munies d’une roue fonctionnelle. Résultats: En accord avec la première hypothèse, l’activité physique prolongée volontaire a augmenté la prolifération des précurseurs neuronaux ainsi que la neurogenèse dans le gyrus dentelé de l’hippocampe comparativement aux animaux témoins, confirmant les résultats d’études antérieures. Par ailleurs, dans ce paradigme, nous avons aussi observé de la prolifération acrue au sein de la zone sous-ventriculaire du prosencéphale. De plus, en accord avec la seconde hypothèse, les souris placées dans une cage à roue bloquée ont montré une augmentation de la prolifération des précurseurs neuronaux dans l’hippocampe comparable à celle observée chez les souris ayant accès à une roue fonctionnelle (coureurs). Cependant, seuls les animaux coureurs ont présenté une augmentation de la neurogenèse hippocampale. Conclusions: Ces résultats nous ont permis de tirer deux conclusions nouvelles concernant les effets de l’activité physique (course) sur la neurogenèse. Premièrement, en plus de la prolifération et de la neurogenèse dans le gyrus dentelé de l’hippocampe, la prolifération dans la zone sous-ventriculaire du prosencéphale peut être augmentée par l’activité physique sur roue. Deuxièmement, l’environnement dans lequel l’activité physique a lieu contient différents stimuli qui peuvent influencer certains aspects de la neurogenèse hippocampale en l’absence d’activité physique sur roue (course). / Introduction: In mammals, new neurons continue to be produced throughout the adulthood in two brain regions: 1) the hippocampus and 2) the forebrain subventricular zone. Adult neurogenesis is not a stable process, and changes in response to diverse factors such as age and pathology. Furthermore, because changes in neurogenesis may in fact underlie pathogenesis, regulating or restoring neurogenesis is seen as an important therapeutic objective. In healthy and diseased mice, hippocampal neurogenesis can be robustly regulated by environmental enrichment. However, while physical activity and environmental enrichment are potentially important in the treatment of some pathologies, comparatively little is known about the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying activity/environment-dependent changes in neurogenesis. Objectives and hypotheses: The primary objectives of this study are to characterize the neurogenesis-mediating effects of external stimuli and, in doing so, to elucidate the mechanisms that underlie observed changes. Using voluntary wheel running as a model, this study addresses two hypotheses: 1) that extended periods of physical activity can influence adult neurogenesis in the forebrain and the hippocampus and 2) that voluntary wheel running mediates neurogenesis through both running-dependent and running-independent stimuli. Methods: To address the first hypothesis, we used a prolonged six-week voluntary paradigm and immunohistochemical analyses to characterize neural precursor activity in the subventricular zone and hippocampus. To address the second hypothesis, we used a modified version of the above paradigm, where an additional group of mice were housed in cages with a locked running wheel. Results: With respect to the first hypothesis, prolonged voluntary wheel running was found to increase neural precursor proliferation and neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus relative to control animals, confirming the results of previous studies. More importantly, in this paradigm, proliferation in the forebrain subventricular zone was also found to be increased. In keeping with the second hypothesis, mice that were housed in locked-running wheel cages showed an increase in hippocampal neural precursor proliferation comparable to that of running animals. However, only running animals displayed increased hippocampal neurogenesis. Conclusions: These results allow us to draw two novel conclusions regarding the effects of running on neurogenesis. First, proliferation in the forebrain subventricular zone, in addition to proliferation and neurogenesis in the hippocampus, is subject to regulation by wheel-running. Second, the wheel-running environment contains diverse stimuli which can influence some aspects of hippocampal neurogenesis in the absence of wheel running.

Respostas adaptativas ao estresse podem ser acompanhadas por alterações nos comportamentos emocionais, em particular relacionados com medo e ansiedade, bem como alterações na sensibilidade dolorosa. Ainda, tem sido investigado o papel do óxido nítrico em áreas encefálicas relacionadas ao comportamento defensivo. Embora várias evidências têm demonstrado que o enriquecimento ambiental promove melhora nos processos de memória, no aprendizado e em respostas nociceptivas, a relação entre o estresse crônico e as vantagens da utilização do enriquecimento ambiental ainda são pouco investigadas. O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar se o enriquecimento ambiental promove alteração do comportamento emocional, da sensibilidade nociceptiva, bem como na imunorreatividade à nNOS no núcleo central da amígdala, na formação hipocampal e na região dorsolateral da substância cinzenta periaquedutal, em ratos submetidos ao estresse por isolamento social ou estresse crônico variado e mantidos em ambiente enriquecido ou sem enriquecimento. Ratos machos Wistar (~70g) foram divididos aleatoriamente em dois grandes grupos experimentais: Ambiente Padrão (Padrão) ou Ambiente Enriquecido (EE), mantidos por 38 dias. Cada grupo foi subdividido dependendo do tipo de estresse crônico: Controle (sem estresse), Isolamento Social (por 38 dias) e Estresse Crônico Variado (do dia 28 ao dia 37). Ao fim do tempo experimental (dia 38) os ratos foram avaliados quanto ao comportamento emocional pelos testes de labirinto em cruz elevado (LCE) e claro/escuro (TCE) e sensibilidade nociceptiva pelo teste da placa quente (a qual foi realizada em duas etapas, sendo a primeira medida no dia 0 e outra no dia 38). A eutanásia dos ratos ocorreu no dia 39, para coleta do encéfalo para análise da imunorreatividade à óxido nítrico sintase neuronal (nNOS). Levando-se em consideração o comportamento emocional e a sensibilidade nociceptiva, os diferentes tipos de estresse crônico diminuíram a porcentagem de tempo, a frequência de entrada e a exploração da extremidade dos braços abertos e na frequência de mergulho de cabeça no teste do LCE, apesar de não alterar a sensibilidade nociceptiva. Por outro lado, o enriquecimento ambiental aumentou a porcentagem de tempo, a frequência de entrada e a exploração da extremidade dos braços abertos no teste do LCE, apesar de não alterar a sensibilidade nociceptiva. Foi observado aumento da imunorreatividade à nNOS na formação hipocampal em diferentes tipos de estresse crônico. Em particular, na região de CA3 houve interação significante entre os fatores estresse por isolamento social e ambiente de manutenção. Deste modo, os resultados obtidos neste trabalho sugerem que a formação hipocampal desempenha importante função no efeito ansiogênico exercido pelos diferentes tipos de estressores crônicos (aqui representados pelo isolamento social e pelo estresse crônico variado) provavelmente pela ativação do sistema nitrérgico e sugere-se que o enriquecimento possa prevenir o comportamento do tipo ansioso. / Adaptive responses to stress may be accompanied by changes in emotional behaviors, in particular related to fear and anxiety, as well as changes in pain sensitivity. Furthermore, the role of nitric oxide in brain areas related to defensive behavior has been investigated. Although several evidences have shown that environmental enrichment improves memory processes, learning and nociceptive responses, the relationship between chronic stress and the advantages of using environmental enrichment is still poorly investigated. The present study aimed to investigate whether environmental enrichment promotes alteration of the emotional behavior, nociceptive sensitivity, as well as immunoreactivity to neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the central nucleus of the amygdala, hippocampal formation and dorsolateral periaqueductal gray matter in rats submitted to social isolation stress or chronic unpredictable stress and reared in enriched environment or standard environment. Male Wistar rats (~ 70g) were randomly divided into two major experimental groups: Standard Environment (Standard) or Enriched Environment (EE), maintained for 38 days. Each group was subdivided according to the type of chronic stress: Control (without stress), Social Isolation (for 38 days) and Chronic Unpredictable Stress (from day 28 to day 37). At the end of the experimental time (day 38), the rats were evaluated for emotional behavior by elevated plus maze (EPM) and light/dark box (LDBT) tests and nociceptive sensitivity by the hot plate test (which was performed in two steps , the first being measured on day 0 and the other on day 38). Euthanasia of rats occurred on day 39, to collect the brain for nNOS immunoreactivity analysis. Taking into account emotional behavior and nociceptive sensitivity, the different types of chronic stress decreased the percentage of time, the frequency of entry of the open arms, end-arm exploration and the head dipping frequency in the EPM, despite of not altering the nociceptive sensitivity. On the other hand, environmental enrichment increased the percentage of time, the frequency of entry of the open arms and the end arm-exploration in the EPM test, although it did not alter the nociceptive sensitivity. Increased immunoreactivity to nNOS in hippocampal formation was observed in different types of chronic stress. In particular, in the CA3 region there was a significant interaction between stress factors due to social isolation and maintenance environment. Thus, the results obtained in this study suggest that hippocampal formation plays an important role in the anxiogenic effect exerted by the different types of chronic stressors (represented here by social isolation and by chronic chronic stress) probably due to the activation of the nitrergic system and it is suggested that environmental enrichment can prevent of anxiety-like behavior.

Atualmente, percebe-se o crescimento de consumidores preocupados com a qualidade dos produtos alimentares quando optam por ingerir carnes provenientes de animais criados em produções que valorizam o bem-estar animal e possuem um pensamento sustentável. Os animais são entidades psicológicas e instiga os pesquisadores a modificar, alterar e criar novas situações que proporcionem aos mesmos viverem, reproduzirem e crescerem de maneira agradável e de forma ética. O enriquecimento ambiental é considerado um tipo de manejo quando se busca melhorar a qualidade de vida dos animais por meio de estímulos ambientais. A música como um estímulo sensorial pode ser uma forma de enriquecer o ambiente. Ainda, a musicoterapia relaciona-se com a arte, a ciência e a educação e pode ser utilizada em diferentes metodologias e objetivos. Diante disto, a presente pesquisa propôs validar uma metodologia inédita e verificar se o agente sensorial música influenciou no comportamento, no bem-estar e no desempenho produtivo de suínos em fase de crescimento. Concluiu-se que a metodologia proposta em utilizar a música em instalações abertas foi eficaz para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa e que esse agente sensorial interviu positivamente nos comportamentos e proporcionou melhoria no bem-estar dos animais. / Nowadays, it is perceived the growth of consumers concerned about the quality of food products when choose to ingest meat from animals that were created in productions that value animal welfare and have a sustainable thinking. Animals are psychological entities and instigates researchers to modify, alter and create new situations that allow them to live, reproduce and grow in a pleasant and ethical way. Environmental enrichment can be considered a type of handling when improves quality life of the animals by environmental stimuli. Music as a sensory stimulus can be a way to enrich the environment. Also, music therapy is related to art, science and education and can be used in different methodologies and objectives. In this view, the present research proposed to validate an unpublished methodology and to verify if the sensory agent music influenced the behavior, wellfare and productive performance of growing pigs. It was concluded that the methodology proposed to use music in open facilities was effective for the development of the research and that this sensory agent intervened positively in the behaviors and provided improvement in the animal welfare.