Effects of environmental enrichment in aged mice on anxiety-like behaviors and neuronal nitric oxide synthase expression in the brain.
Previous studies have shown that an enriched environment (EE) has an important effect on brain function via the neuronal nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide (nNOS/NO) pathway in young and aged animals. However, whether EE induces its effect by altering nNOS expression levels and whether it lowers anxiety-like behaviors in aged mice remains unclear. Here, we show that nNOS expression levels increased with age in the hippocampus and cerebellum in aged mice, but not in the cortex. Moreover, EE reduced anxiety-like behaviors in aged mice and reduced nNOS expression levels in the cerebellum, but not in the cortex. The present study suggests that EE improves anxiety-like behaviors in aged mice by altering nNOS expression levels in the hippocampus or cerebellum.
Graduate School of Sports and Health Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Yuki
Y
Tomiga
Graduate School of Sports and Health Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Ai
A
Ito
Physical Fitness Research Institute, Meiji Yasuda Life Foundation of Health and Welfare, Tokyo, Japan.
Mizuki
M
Sudo
Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan.
Soichi
S
Ando
Faculty of Sports and Health Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Akino
A
Maruyama
Faculty of Sports and Health Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Shihoko
S
Nakashima
Faculty of Sports and Health Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Kentaro
K
Kawanaka
Faculty of Sports and Health Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Yoshinari
Y
Uehara
Faculty of Sports and Health Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Akira
A
Kiyonaga
Faculty of Sports and Health Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Hiroaki
H
Tanaka
Faculty of Sports and Health Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan. Electronic address: higaki@fukuoka-u.ac.jp.
Yasuki
Y
Higaki
D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000201:enzymology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000201:enzymology; D004777:Environment; D015870:Gene Expression; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; C496321:Nos1 protein, mouse
Age; Anxiety-like behaviors; Enriched environment; nNOS