title: [Neuroprotective effects of learning on glutamate-induced neuronal damage in rat hippocampus].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the neuroprotective effect of learning on glutamate-induced neuronal damage.
  
  
  METHODS
  SD rats were intraperitoneally injected with monosodium glutamate (MSG) during the period of 3-9 days after born, and were trained to find their food by light-dark discrimination at 1 month old or 2 months old. At 3 months old, all rats were killed and their brains were taken out and cut into sections and ultrathin sections. The survival neurons in hippocampus were counted under light microscope, and under electric microscope, the ultrastructure, the numbers of synapses and the length of synaptic active zone in fields CA1 of hippocampus were observed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The survival neurons in field CA3 and CA4, the number of synapses and the length of synaptic active zone in field CA1 of hippocampus increased in learning group than non-learning group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These finding indicate that discriminative learning can alleviate neuronal injury of hippocampus induced by MSG.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050016, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wen-Zhong
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Yu-Lan
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Feng-Xia
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018698:Glutamic Acid