scholarly journals An old test for new neurons: refining the Morris water maze to study the functional relevance of adult hippocampal neurogenesis

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Garthe ◽  
Gerd Kempermann
Keyword(s):  
Morris Water Maze ◽  
Water Maze ◽  
Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Functional Relevance

scholarly journals Obesity alters mobility and adult neurogenesis, but not hippocampal dependent learning in ob/ob mice

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Bracke ◽  
Grazyna Domanska ◽  
Katharina Bracke ◽  
Steffen Harzsch ◽  
Jens van den Brandt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Open Field ◽  
Morris Water Maze ◽  
Spatial Learning ◽  
Adult Neurogenesis ◽  
Water Maze ◽  
Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Dependent Learning

AbstractsBackgroundObesity has become a severe problem among the world’s population with clearly increasing prevalence over the last decades. Because obesity is associated with several comorbidities (e.g. hypertension or cancer) it constitutes an increasing burden for the health care system. Correlations between obesity and cognition have been studied in humans with ambivalent results. Here, we studied the effects of obesity on hippocampus dependent learning and memory and cell morphology in a mouse model of obesity.MethodsThe body mass of male and female Lep+/+(wt) and Lepob/ob(ob/ob) animals with access to food and water ad libitum was measured between postnatal day 60-200 and animals with clear adiposity (4-6 months) were further analyzed. Adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus was examined using phosphohistone H3 as a marker for proliferation, doublecortin as a marker for differentiation and caspase3 as a marker for apoptosis. Moreover, the density of dendritic spines on apical and basal dendrites of pyramidal neurons of the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) were analyzed using Golgi impregnation. In addition, mice were subjected to the open field and Morris water maze test in order to analyze locomotor activity and spatial learning.ResultsThe body weight of ob/ob mice nearly doubled during the first 120 postnatal days. Adult hippocampal neurogenesis was reduced in ob/ob mice due to reduced cell proliferation. Dendritic spine densities in the hippocampal area CA1 were not altered in ob/ob mice. Four to six months old ob/ob mice showed reduced locomotor activity in the open field test but similar performance in the Morris water maze compared to control mice.ConclusionOur data show that alterations in adult neurogenesis in leptin-deficient mice are not associated with an impairment in spatial learning abilities. Moreover, ob/ob mice are inconspicuous in the Morris water maze and do not display altered spine densities in the hippocampus, suggesting that obesity does not have a severe impact upon hippocampal neuronal plasticity and spatial learning.

scholarly journals Morris Water Maze and Contextual Fear Conditioning Tasks to Evaluate Cognitive Functions Associated With Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis

2022 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Hernández-Mercado ◽  
Angélica Zepeda
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Morris Water Maze ◽  
Water Maze ◽  
Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Contextual Fear Conditioning ◽  
Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Spatial Learning And Memory ◽  
Contextual Fear ◽  
Adult Lifespan

New neurons are continuously generated and functionally integrated into the dentate gyrus (DG) network during the adult lifespan of most mammals. The hippocampus is a crucial structure for spatial learning and memory, and the addition of new neurons into the DG circuitry of rodents seems to be a key element for these processes to occur. The Morris water maze (MWM) and contextual fear conditioning (CFC) are among the most commonly used hippocampus-dependent behavioral tasks to study episodic-like learning and memory in rodents. While the functional contribution of adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) through these paradigms has been widely addressed, results have generated controversial findings. In this review, we analyze and discuss possible factors in the experimental methods that could explain the inconsistent results among AHN studies; moreover, we provide specific suggestions for the design of more sensitive protocols to assess AHN-mediated learning and memory functions.

scholarly journals Deltamethrin Exposure Inhibits Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Causes Deficits in Learning and Memory in Mice

2020 ◽  
Vol 178 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-357
Author(s):  
Muhammad M Hossain ◽  
Abdelmadjid Belkadi ◽  
Sara Al-Haddad ◽  
Jason R Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Object Recognition ◽  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Water Maze ◽  
Cellular Proliferation ◽  
Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Novel Object Recognition ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Short Term Exposure

Abstract Deficits in learning and memory are often associated with disruption of hippocampal neurogenesis, which is regulated by numerous processes, including precursor cell proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation to mature neurons. Recent studies demonstrate that adult born neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG) in the hippocampus can functionally integrate into the existing neuronal circuitry and contribute to hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. Here, we demonstrate that relatively short-term deltamethrin exposure (3 mg/kg every 3 days for 1 month) inhibits adult hippocampal neurogenesis and causes deficits in learning and memory in mice. Hippocampal-dependent cognitive functions were evaluated using 2 independent hippocampal-dependent behavioral tests, the novel object recognition task and Morris water maze. We found that deltamethrin-treated mice exhibited profound deficits in novel object recognition and learning and memory in water maze. Deltamethrin exposure significantly decreased bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-positive cells (39%) and Ki67+ cells (47%) in the DG of the hippocampus, indicating decreased cellular proliferation. In addition, deltamethrin-treated mice exhibited a 44% decrease in nestin-expressing neural progenitor cells and a 38% reduction in the expression of doublecortin (DCX), an early neuronal differentiation marker. Furthermore, deltamethrin-exposed mice exhibited a 25% reduction in total number of granule cells in the DG. These findings indicate that relatively short-term exposure to deltamethrin causes significant deficits in hippocampal neurogenesis that is associated with impaired learning and memory.

scholarly journals Focused ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier opening improves adult hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive function in a cholinergic degeneration dementia rat model

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaewoo Shin ◽  
Chanho Kong ◽  
Jihyeon Lee ◽  
Bo Young Choi ◽  
Jiyeon Sim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Water Maze ◽  
Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Acetylcholinesterase Activity ◽  
Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Cholinergic Degeneration ◽  
Barrier Opening ◽  
Blood Brain Barrier Opening

Abstract Background The persistence of adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) is sharply decreased in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The neuropathologies of AD include the presence of amyloid-β deposition in plaques, tau hyperphosphorylation in neurofibrillary tangles, and cholinergic system degeneration. The focused ultrasound (FUS)-mediated blood-brain barrier opening modulates tau hyperphosphorylation, the accumulation of amyloid-β proteins, and increases in AHN. However, it remains unclear whether FUS can modulate AHN in cholinergic-deficient conditions. In this study, we investigated the effect of FUS on AHN in a cholinergic degeneration rat model of dementia. Methods Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 48; 200–250 g) were divided into control (phosphate-buffered saline injection), 192 IgG-saporin (SAP), and SAP+FUS groups; in the two latter groups, SAP was injected bilaterally into the lateral ventricle. We applied FUS to the bilateral hippocampus with microbubbles. Immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunoblotting, 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine labeling, an acetylcholinesterase assay, and the Morris water maze test were performed to assess choline acetyltransferase, acetylcholinesterase activity, brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression, neural proliferation, and spatial memory, respectively. Statistical significance of differences in between groups was calculated using one-way and two-way analyses of variance followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test to determine the individual and interactive effects of FUS on immunochemistry and behavioral analysis. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results Cholinergic degeneration in rats significantly decreased the number of choline acetyltransferase neurons (P < 0.05) in the basal forebrain, as well as AHN and spatial memory function. Rats that underwent FUS-mediated brain-blood barrier opening exhibited significant increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF; P < 0.05), early growth response protein 1 (EGR1) (P < 0.01), AHN (P < 0.01), and acetylcholinesterase activity in the frontal cortex (P < 0.05) and hippocampus (P < 0.01) and crossing over (P < 0.01) the platform in the Morris water maze relative to the SAP group after sonication. Conclusions FUS treatment increased AHN and improved spatial memory. This improvement was mediated by increased hippocampal BDNF and EGR1. FUS treatment may also restore AHN and protect against neurodegeneration, providing a potentially powerful therapeutic strategy for AD.

scholarly journals Increasing Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis Promotes Resilience in a Mouse Model of Depression

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 972
Author(s):  
Barbara Planchez ◽  
Natalia Lagunas ◽  
Anne-Marie Le Guisquet ◽  
Marc Legrand ◽  
Alexandre Surget ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Model ◽  
Water Maze ◽  
Chronic Mild Stress ◽  
Tail Suspension Test ◽  
Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Maze Procedure ◽  
Mild Stress ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Stress Resilience

Many studies evaluated the functional role of adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) and its key role in cognitive functions and mood regulation. The effects of promoting AHN on the recovery of stress-induced symptoms have been well studied, but its involvement in stress resilience remains elusive. We used a mouse model enabling us to foster AHN before the exposure to unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) to evaluate the potential protective effects of AHN on stress, assessing the depressive-like phenotype and executive functions. For this purpose, an inducible transgenic mouse model was used to delete the pro-apoptotic gene Bax from neural progenitors four weeks before UCMS, whereby increasing the survival of adult-generated neurons. Our results showed that UCMS elicited a depressive-like phenotype, highlighted by a deteriorated coat state, a higher immobility duration in the tail suspension test (TST), and a delayed reversal learning in a water maze procedure. Promoting AHN before UCMS was sufficient to prevent the development of stressed-induced behavioral changes in the TST and the water maze, reflecting an effect of AHN on stress resilience. Taken together, our data suggest that increasing AHN promotes stress resilience on some depressive-like symptoms but also in cognitive symptoms, which are often observed in MD.

A Hypothesis About the Role of Adult Neurogenesis in Hippocampal Function

Physiology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 253-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro F. Schinder ◽  
Fred H. Gage
Keyword(s):  
Adult Neurogenesis ◽  
Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽  
Hippocampal Function ◽  
Hippocampal Plasticity ◽  
Functional Relevance ◽  
And Function ◽  
Precise Role

The functional relevance of adult hippocampal neurogenesis has long been a matter of intense experimentation and debate, but the precise role of new neurons has not been sufficiently elaborated. Here we propose a hypothesis in which specific features of newly generated neurons contribute to hippocampal plasticity and function and discuss the most recent and relevant findings in the context of the proposed hypothesis.

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