Environmental enrichment: effects on stereotyped behavior and neurotrophin levels.
The present study evaluated whether environmental enrichment-related effects on the development of stereotyped behavior in deer mice were associated with alterations in neurotrophin levels. Deer mice were reared in enriched or standard cage conditions for 60 days. The mice were then tested in automated photocell detectors and classified as either stereotypic or nonstereotypic. This testing paradigm yielded four behaviorally distinct groups: enriched stereotypic, enriched nonstereotypic, standard cage stereotypic, and standard cage nonstereotypic. The motor cortex, striatum, and hippocampus were dissected, and the levels of brain-derived neurotrophin factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in each brain region were analyzed using Promega ELISA kits. There were no differences in either NGF or BDNF in either the motor cortex or the hippocampus. In the striatum, the enriched nonstereotypic mice exhibited significantly more BDNF than the enriched stereotypic, the standard cage nonstereotypic, or the standard cage stereotypic mice. There were no differences in NGF in the striatum. These results provide evidence that the enrichment-related prevention of stereotyped behavior in deer mice is associated with increased BDNF in the striatum.
Turner
Cortney A
CA
Mental Health Research Institute, University of Michigan, 205 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Lewis
Mark H
MH
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D004777:Environment; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D010542:Peromyscus; D012737:Sex Factors; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior / Q000502:physiology*
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor