Environmental Enrichment Provides a Cognitive Reserve to be Spent in the Case of Brain Lesion

Mandolesi, Laura; Bartolo, Paola De; Foti, Francesca; Gelfo, Francesca; Federico, Francesca; Leggio, Maria; Petrosini, Laura

doi:10.3233/jad-2008-15102

Cited by 59 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…In particular, the EE effects on the morphological features of Purkinje cells (density, area, length and head diameter of spines) were evaluated in proximal and distal dendrite compartments that as known receive different inputs to elaborate. In line with the effects previously reported on neocortical and hippocampal neurons (Johansson and Belichenko 2002;Gelfo et al 2009;Mandolesi et al 2008;Rojas et al 2013;González-Ramírez et al 2014), the exposure to an enriched environment affected density, area, length and head diameter of Purkinje cell spines. In particular, spine density was higher in enriched rats than in controls on both proximal and distal dendrite compartments in the hemisphere, while it increased only on distal compartment in the vermis, suggesting that the different spinogenesis in the two dendrite compartments is the expression of the differences in the inputs they receive.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Namely, the enriched animals quickly acquire tuned navigational strategies, improved procedural competencies and working memory abilities. Furthermore, when the requirements of the context change, they promptly are able to reorganize their strategies by shifting from prevalently using spatial procedures to applying mnesic competencies (Leggio et al 2005;De Bartolo et al 2008;Mandolesi et al 2008;Petrosini et al 2009;Foti et al 2011). The beneficial effects of complex experiences appear to be linked to the strengthening of not only the neocortical and hippocampal synapses, as already demonstrated, but also of the Purkinje cell synapses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…Intrinsic factors, as neurotrophins, and extrinsic factors, as environmental conditions, modulate number, shape and function of dendritic spines (Bae et al 2012;Petrinovic et al 2013). In neocortical and hippocampal neurons increased spine density is demonstrated in relation to EE exposure (Moser et al 1994;Kozorovitskiy et al 2005;Mandolesi et al 2008;Liu et al 2012), neuronal activity (Bundman and Gall 1994;Hosokawa et al 1995;Zhao et al 2012), learning (Gonzàlez-Ramìrez et al 2013;Muhammad et al 2013), and physical exercise (Klintsova and Greenough 1999;Yau et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Activity-dependent structural plasticity of Purkinje cell spines in cerebellar vermis and hemisphere

et al. 2014

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The environmental enrichment (EE) paradigm is widely used to study experience-dependent brain plasticity. In spite of a long history of research, the EE influence on neuronal morphology has not yet been described in relation to the different regions of the cerebellum. Thus, aim of the present study was to characterize the EE effects on density and size of dendritic spines of Purkinje cell proximal and distal compartments in cerebellar vermian and hemispherical regions. Male Wistar rats were housed in an enriched or standard environment for 3.5 months from the 21st post-natal day onwards. The morphological features of Purkinje cell spines were visualized on calbindin immunofluorescence-stained cerebellar vermian and hemispherical sections. Density, area, length and head diameter of spines were manually (ImageJ) or automatically (Imaris) quantified. Results demonstrated that the Purkinje cell spine density was higher in enriched rats than in controls on both proximal and distal dendrite compartments in the hemisphere, while it increased only on distal compartment in the vermis. As for spine size, a significant increase of area, length and head diameter was found in the distal dendrites in both vermis and hemisphere. Thus, the exposure to a complex environment enhances synapse formation and plasticity either in the vermis involved in balance and locomotion and in the hemisphere involved in complex motor adaptations and acquisition of new motor strategies. These data highlight the importance of cerebellar activity-dependent structural plasticity underling the EE-related high-level performances.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Activity-dependent structural plasticity of Purkinje cell spines in cerebellar vermis and hemisphere

et al. 2014

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“…Moreover, in the long-term, such activity has a direct impact on the ability to cope with life events, known as animal's cognitive reserve (Mandolesi et al, 2008;Milgram et al, 2006) and neurogenic reserve (Kempermann, 2008), respectively. Indeed, these contrasting paradigms influence the individual's ability to cope with stress and depression (Greer and Trivedi, 2009;Laviola et al, 2008;Mora et al, 2007), specifically in relation to their effects on adult neurogenesis (Navailles et al, 2008;Schloesser et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antidepressant and Proneurogenic Influence of Environmental Enrichment in Mice: Protective Effects vs Recovery

Llorens‐Martin

Tejeda

Trejo

2011

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Physical-cognitive activity has long-lasting beneficial effects on the brain and on behavior. Environmental enrichment (EE) induces brain activity known to influence the behavior of mice, as measured in learned helplessness paradigms (forced swim test), and neurogenic cell populations in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. However, it is not completely clear whether the antidepressant and proneurogenic effects of EE are different in animals that are naive or pre-exposed to the stress inducing helplessness, and if this depends on the type of stressor. It also remains unclear whether differential effects are exerted on distinct neurogenic subpopulations. We found that EE has a protective effect in adult female mice (C57BL/6J) when exposed twice to the same stressor (forced swim test) but it has no influence on recovery. The repeated exposure to this stressor was analyzed together with the effects of EE on different neurogenic populations distinguished by age and differentiation state. Younger cells are more sensitive and responsive to the conditions, both the positive and negative effects. These results are relevant to identify the cell populations that are the targets of stress, depression, and enrichment, and that form part of the mechanism responsible for mood dysfunctions.

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“…Namely, exposure to complex stimulations improves the efficiency of cortical networks in normal [47,48] as well as pathological [45,49] conditions. The increased cortical synaptogenesis observed in these studies may represent an index of enhanced connectivity in the circuit regulating the modulation of voluntary motor activity and motor learning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plastic Changes in Striatal Fast-Spiking Interneurons Following Hemicerebellectomy and Environmental Enrichment

et al. 2011

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Recent findings suggest marked interconnections between the cerebellum and striatum, thus challenging the classical view of their segregated operation in motor control. Therefore, this study was aimed at further investigating this issue by analyzing the effects of hemicerebellectomy (HCb) on density and dendritic length of striatal fast-spiking interneurons (FSi). First, we analyzed the plastic rearrangements of striatal FSi morphology in hemicerebellectomized animals reared in standard conditions. Then, since environmental enrichment (EE) induces structural changes in experimental models of brain disease, we evaluated FSi morphology in lesioned animals exposed to an enriched environment after HCb. Although HCb did not affect FSi density, it progressively shrank dendritic branching of striatal FSi of both sides. These plastic changes, already evident 15 days after the cerebellar ablation, became very marked 30 days after the lesion. Such a relevant effect was completely abolished by postoperative enrichment. EE not only counteracted shrinkage of FSi dendritic arborization but also provoked a progressive increase in dendritic length which surpassed that of the controls as the enrichment period lengthened. These data confirm that the cerebellum and striatum are more interconnected than previously retained. Furthermore, cerebellar damage likely evokes a striatal response through cortical mediation. The EE probably modifies HCb-induced plastic changes in the striatum by increasing the efficiency of the cortical circuitry. This is the first study describing the morphological rearrangement of striatal FSi following a cerebellar lesion; it provides the basis for further studies aimed at investigating the mechanisms underlying cerebello-striatal "talking."

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Environmental Enrichment Provides a Cognitive Reserve to be Spent in the Case of Brain Lesion

Cited by 59 publications

References 73 publications

Activity-dependent structural plasticity of Purkinje cell spines in cerebellar vermis and hemisphere

Activity-dependent structural plasticity of Purkinje cell spines in cerebellar vermis and hemisphere

Antidepressant and Proneurogenic Influence of Environmental Enrichment in Mice: Protective Effects vs Recovery

Plastic Changes in Striatal Fast-Spiking Interneurons Following Hemicerebellectomy and Environmental Enrichment

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