Compared to rats raised in conventional cages, rats raised in MarlauTM cages exhibited the phenotypic characteristics reported for animals housed in non-standardized EE, i.e. increased (i) cortical thickness, (ii) hippocampal neurogenesis, (iii) hippocampal levels of BDNF and VEGF transcripts, better performances in spatial learning, and decreased anxiety-trait. Here, VEGFA is linked to Anxiety.