title: Influences of reduced masticatory sensory input from soft-diet feeding upon spatial memory/learning ability in mice.
abstract: It has been reported that reduction of masticatory afferent stimulation might influence learning and memory function. In order to clarify the influences of reduced masticatory sensory input on spatial memory/learning ability and neuropathological changes, we conducted the Morris water maze experiment and investigated the number of hippocampal neurons in association with the differences in masticatory afferent stimuli from hard- and soft-diet feeding in mice. The water maze experiment showed no significant difference in learning ability between 180-day-old solid- and powderdiet groups. Meanwhile, the ability was significantly reduced in the 360-day-old powder-diet group as compared with the age-matched solid-diet group. The total number of pyramidal cells in the hippocampal CA1 and CA3 regions was significantly smaller in 360-day-old powder-diet group than in the remaining groups. These results demonstrate that reduction of masticatory afferent stimuli due to long-term soft-diet feeding may induce neuron loss in the hippocampus and reduced memory/learning ability.
authors: Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Developmental Biology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan. kktt0821@hotmail.com
authors: Keisuke
authors: K
authors: Tsutsui
authors: Masato
authors: M
authors: Kaku
authors: Masahide
authors: M
authors: Motokawa
authors: Yuiko
authors: Y
authors: Tohma
authors: Toshitsugu
authors: T
authors: Kawata
authors: Tadashi
authors: T
authors: Fujita
authors: Shinya
authors: S
authors: Kohno
authors: Junji
authors: J
authors: Ohtani
authors: Kaoru
authors: K
authors: Tenjoh
authors: Mao
authors: M
authors: Nakano
authors: Hiroko
authors: H
authors: Kamada
authors: Kazuo
authors: K
authors: Tanne
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology*; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*