title: Environmental enrichment restores CA1 hippocampal LTP and reduces severity of seizures in epileptic mice.
abstract: We have analyzed the effects of environmental enrichment (EE) in a seizure-prone mouse model in which the genetic disruption of the presynaptic protein Bassoon leads to structural and functional alterations in the hippocampus and causes early spontaneous seizures mimicking human neurodevelopmental disorders. One-month EE starting at P21 reduced seizure severity, preserved long-term potentiation (LTP) and paired-pulse synaptic responses in the hippocampal CA1 neuronal population and prevented the reduction of spine density and dendrite branching of pyramidal neurons. These data demonstrate that EE exerts its therapeutic effect by normalizing multiple aspects of hippocampal function and provide experimental support for its use in the optimization of existent treatments.
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Rome, Italy; Istituto Serafico, Assisi, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Morelli
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ghiglieri
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pendolino
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenza
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bagetta
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Laboratory of Psychobiology, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Annabella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pignataro
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fejtova
authors.affiliation: Clinica Neurologica, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Ospedale S. Maria della Misericordia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Laboratory of Psychobiology, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ammassari-Teule
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Eckart D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Gundelfinger
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Picconi
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Rome, Italy; Clinica Neurologica, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Ospedale S. Maria della Misericordia, Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: paolo.calabresi@unipg.it.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calabresi
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001703:Biophysics; D056547:CA1 Region, Hippocampal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004777:Environment; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000494:pharmacology; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D018350:alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: C498441:Bsn protein, mouse; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D018350:alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid
keywords: Bassoon; Environmental enrichment; Epilepsy; Hippocampus; Neurodevelopmental disorder; Synaptic plasticity