Environmental enrichment is associated with rapid volumetric brain changes in adult mice

NeuroImage ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 190-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Scholz ◽  
Rylan Allemang-Grand ◽  
Jun Dazai ◽  
Jason P. Lerch
2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. i4-i30
Author(s):  
R Camarini ◽  
A.B. Suárez ◽  
L.B. Hoffmann ◽  
A.V. Rueda ◽  
M.B. Rae ◽  
...  

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1366
Author(s):  
Amy E. Clipperton-Allen ◽  
Angela Zhang ◽  
Ori S. Cohen ◽  
Damon Theron Page

Pten germline haploinsufficient (Pten+/−) mice, which model macrocephaly/autism syndrome, show social and repetitive behavior deficits, early brain overgrowth, and cortical–subcortical hyperconnectivity. Previous work indicated that altered neuronal connectivity may be a substrate for behavioral deficits. We hypothesized that exposing Pten+/− mice to environmental enrichment after brain overgrowth has occurred may facilitate adaptation to abnormal “hard-wired” connectivity through enhancing synaptic plasticity. Thus, we reared Pten+/− mice and their wild-type littermates from weaning under either standard (4–5 mice per standard-sized cage, containing only bedding and nestlet) or enriched (9–10 mice per large-sized cage, containing objects for exploration and a running wheel, plus bedding and nestlet) conditions. Adult mice were tested on social and non-social assays in which Pten+/− mice display deficits. Environmental enrichment rescued sex-specific deficits in social behavior in Pten+/− mice and partially rescued increased repetitive behavior in Pten+/− males. We found that Pten+/− mice show increased excitatory and decreased inhibitory pre-synaptic proteins; this phenotype was also rescued by environmental enrichment. Together, our results indicate that environmental enrichment can rescue social behavioral deficits in Pten+/− mice, possibly through normalizing the excitatory synaptic protein abundance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Flores-Gutiérrez ◽  
Edith Araceli Cabrera-Muñoz ◽  
Nelly Maritza Vega-Rivera ◽  
Leonardo Ortiz-López ◽  
Gerardo Bernabé Ramírez-Rodríguez

Several interventions have been shown to counteract the effects of stress that may be related to improved neuroplasticity and neuronal activation. In this sense, environmental enrichment (ENR) protects against acute stress and increases neuroplasticity. It has been suggested that the use of patterned auditory stimuli (PAS) may be beneficial in increasing the effectiveness of ENR on disorders related to stress, such as depression and anxiety. Examples of PAS are classical music compositions that have interesting effects at both clinical and preclinical levels. Thus, we analyzed the effects of the exposure to PAS, represented in this study by Mozart’s compositions, during ENR housing for 35 days in adult male Balb/C mice to evaluate depression-associated behavior using the forced-swim test (FST) paradigm with an additional short exposure to PAS. We found that the ENR mice that were exposed to PAS during both housing and behavioral task (ENR + PAS/FST + PAS) show decreased immobility and the number of despair episodes within a higher latency to show the first bout of immobility. Additionally, we found increased neuronal activation evaluated by the identification of activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein- (Arc-) labeled cells in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in mice exposed to PAS during housing and in the absence or presence of PAS during FST. Moreover, we found increased neuronal activation in the auditory cortex (AuCx) of mice exposed to PAS during FST. Our study suggests that the exposure to PAS during an emotional challenge decreases despair-like behavior in rodents that were previously housed in an enriched environment in combination with auditory stimuli. Thus, our data indicate that the role of the exposure to PAS as an intervention or in combination with positive environment to aid in treating neuropsychiatric disorders is worth pursuing.


Neuroscience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 429 ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Chandler ◽  
Hosnia Dosso ◽  
Stephanie Simard ◽  
Sara Siddiqi ◽  
Chris Rudyk ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 4048-4061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Leger ◽  
Eleni Paizanis ◽  
Kwamivi Dzahini ◽  
Anne Quiedeville ◽  
Valentine Bouet ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. e48043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Leger ◽  
Anne Quiedeville ◽  
Eleni Paizanis ◽  
Sharuja Natkunarajah ◽  
Thomas Freret ◽  
...  

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Priscilla dos Santos Lieuthier Freitas ◽  
Ana Victória de Lima Lima ◽  
Karina Glazianne Barbosa Carvalho ◽  
Tatyane da Silva Cabral ◽  
Alexandre Maia de Farias ◽  
...  

We previously demonstrated, using the Piry virus model, that environmental enrichment promotes higher T-cell infiltration, fewer microglial changes, and faster central nervous system (CNS) virus clearance in adult mice. However, little is known about disease progression, behavioral changes, CNS cytokine concentration, and neuropathology in limbic encephalitis in experimental models. Using Cocal virus, we infected C57Bl6 adult mice and studied the neuroanatomical distribution of viral antigens in correlation with the microglial morphological response, measured the CNS cytokine concentration, and assessed behavioral changes. C57Bl6 adult mice were maintained in an impoverished environment (IE) or enriched environment (EE) for four months and then subjected to the open field test. Afterwards, an equal volume of normal or virus-infected brain homogenate was nasally instilled. The brains were processed to detect viral antigens and microglial morphological changes using selective immunolabeling. We demonstrated earlier significant weight loss and higher mortality in IE mice. Additionally, behavioral analysis revealed a significant influence of the environment on locomotor and exploratory activity that was associated with less neuroinvasion and a reduced microglial response. Thus, environmental enrichment was associated with a more effective immune response in a mouse model of limbic encephalitis, allowing faster viral clearance/decreased viral dissemination, reduced disease progression, and less CNS damage.


2014 ◽  
Vol 128 ◽  
pp. 109-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Matteucci ◽  
Chiara Ceci ◽  
Cinzia Mallozzi ◽  
Simone Macrì ◽  
Fiorella Malchiodi-Albedi ◽  
...  

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