Topic: enriched environment

Predatory behavior is crucial for survival and fitness in many species, evolving through complex interactions of genetics, adaptation, and learning. This interplay of innate and acquired neural mechanisms makes predation a rich subject for neuroscientific and neuroethological investigation. Current approaches to studying prey-capture use simple, barren setups that limit our understanding of how realistic environmental complexity impacts this process. This work presents both an experimental approach and analytical computational tools suitable to address these limitations. This study explores ho

Germinal matrix-intraventricular hemorrhage (GM-IVH) is one of the most common complications associated with prematurity. It may lead to life-lasting cognitive, sensory, motor and behavioral impairments and it has no successful treatment. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that early behavioral intervention programs may have beneficial effects in premature infants. Accordingly, we have analyzed the effects on neuronal damage and behavioral impairment of early exposure to an enriched environment (EE) of a murine model of GM-IVH. GM-IVH was induced by intraventricular collagenase administration

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after exposure to severe traumatic event. PTSD is associated with changes in behavior and reduced neurogenesis. Available data suggests that antipsychotics or enriched environment may positively affect behavioral outcomes and increase neurogenesis in PTSD patients. Our aim was to determine whether aripiprazole, enriched environment or their combination in the PTSD animal model will positively affect behavioral outcomes and hippocampal neurogenesis. We used the single prolonged stress paradigm to induce PTSD related symptoms in animals. Animals

Activation of hippocampal inhibitory pathways is essential for maintaining the balance between excitation and inhibition during hippocampal information processing. Somatostatin (SOM) and Parvalbumin (PV) positive GABAergic neurons are two major classes of interneurons in the hippocampus, providing strong dendritic and peri-somatic inhibition to excitatory neurons, respectively. It is well known that exposure of mice to an enriched environment (EE) reliably increases performance on hippocampus-dependent learning and memory tasks. However, the mechanisms underlying the behavioral improvements an

Lifestyle factors exert a significant influence on the structure and function of the brain. These effects are particularly pronounced in the hippocampus, crucial for learning and memory, known for its plasticity and the existence of adult neurogenesis—the generation of new neurons in adulthood. While the enhancing effect of environmental stimulation on adult neurogenesis has been extensively studied, there has been a notable lack of attention to its impact on other cell types within the adult neurogenic niche, such as microglia.In this study, we investigated the effects of environmental stimul

Can enhanced early sensory experience improve learning later in life? Using an enriched environment (EE) paradigm, we characterised the impact of enhanced sensory processing in early life during critical periods of cortical interneuron synaptic assembly, on changes in structural synaptic plasticity in vivo, functional cortical network activity and behaviour in adult mice. Using 2-photon longitudinal intravital microscopy, cranial window implantation and calcium imaging, we monitored the effects of early EE on functional cortical neuron population activity in mouse somatosensory (S1) cortex wit

Serotonin (5-HT) plays a prominent role in a range of psychiatric disorders. Besides acting as a neurotransmitter, 5-HT is a neurotrophic factor during brain development, contributing to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Although neglected so far, the maternal 5-HTergic genotype may play a role in the offspring’s brain function and behavior, as both the placenta-derived 5-HT during pregnancy and the maternal care during early childhood. To initiate early intervention in NDDs, we aim to (1) understand the atypical development influenced by maternal 5-HTergic genotype, and (2) investigate if

Methamphetamine (MA) is a highly addictive psychostimulant abused worldwide that causes long-term behavioral changes that are linked to changes in the brain. The third trimester and adolescence are critical periods of development as the body undergoes dramatic changes and becomes more sensitive to the effects of the drug. This study aimed to investigate the effect of MA exposure during the first 12 postnatal days of laboratory rats, corresponding to the human third trimester, on hippocampal neurotrophin levels in adolescence. Exposure was performed either directly (daily subcutaneous injection

Background: Adult stem cell niches are specialized forms of extracellular matrix suitable for maintaining the development of newborn neurons. The process is regulated by internal and external factors, such as enriched environment (EE). The subgranular zone (SGZ) in the hippocampus is enriched with molecules such as tenascin C (TnC). It is a regulatory glycoprotein involved in the proliferation and migration of different cell types. The aim of this study was to examine how TnC affects the distribution of different biomolecules and the number of developing cells in the adult SGZ.Methods: To dire

Proprioception enables an organism to sense the position and motion of its limbs and body in space. Comparative evolutionary studies have proposed that the organization of the proprioceptive cortex does not emerge as a consequence of innervation density but rather as a result of the actual use of a limb. We tested this hypothesis by quantifying if and how the proprioceptive cortical representation reorganizes after skilled motor training in adult mice as well as enriched environmental exposure during development.We performed wide-filed calcium imaging of cortical activation in response to mult