System Consolidation of Spatial Memories in Mice: Effects of Enriched Environment
Environmental enrichment (EE) is known to enhance learning and memory. Declarative memories are thought to undergo a first rapid and local consolidation process, followed by a prolonged process of system consolidation, which consist in a time-dependent gradual reorganization of brain regions support...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2013-01-01
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| Series: | Neural Plasticity |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/956312 |
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| _version_ | 1832550056184512512 |
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| author | Joyce Bonaccorsi Simona Cintoli Rosa Mastrogiacomo Sigrid Baldanzi Chiara Braschi Tommaso Pizzorusso Maria Cristina Cenni Nicoletta Berardi |
| author_facet | Joyce Bonaccorsi Simona Cintoli Rosa Mastrogiacomo Sigrid Baldanzi Chiara Braschi Tommaso Pizzorusso Maria Cristina Cenni Nicoletta Berardi |
| author_sort | Joyce Bonaccorsi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Environmental enrichment (EE) is known to enhance learning and memory. Declarative memories are thought to undergo a first rapid and local consolidation process, followed by a prolonged process of system consolidation, which consist in a time-dependent gradual reorganization of brain regions supporting remote memory storage and crucial for the formation of enduring memories. At present, it is not known whether EE can affect the process of declarative memory system consolidation. We characterized the time course of hippocampal and cortical activation following recall of progressively more remote spatial memories. Wild-type mice either exposed to EE for 40 days or left in standard environment were subjected to spatial learning in the Morris water maze and to the probe test 1, 10, 20, 30, and 50 days after learning. Following the probe test, regional expression of the inducible immediate early gene c-Fos was mapped by immunohistochemistry, as an indicator of neuronal activity. We found that activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), suggested to have a privileged role in processing remote spatial memories, was evident at shorter time intervals after learning in EE mice; in addition, EE induced the progressive activation of a distributed cortical network not activated in non-EE mice. This suggests that EE not only accelerates the process of mPFC recruitment but also recruits additional cortical areas into the network supporting remote spatial memories. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-38af9242d8f14c459079c022796a3087 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-5904 1687-5443 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Neural Plasticity |
| spelling | doaj-art-38af9242d8f14c459079c022796a30872025-02-03T06:07:45ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432013-01-01201310.1155/2013/956312956312System Consolidation of Spatial Memories in Mice: Effects of Enriched EnvironmentJoyce Bonaccorsi0Simona Cintoli1Rosa Mastrogiacomo2Sigrid Baldanzi3Chiara Braschi4Tommaso Pizzorusso5Maria Cristina Cenni6Nicoletta Berardi7Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56100 Pisa, ItalyInstitute of Neuroscience of the CNR, 56124 Pisa, ItalyPisa University, 56100 Pisa, ItalyPisa University, 56100 Pisa, ItalyInstitute of Neuroscience of the CNR, 56124 Pisa, ItalyInstitute of Neuroscience of the CNR, 56124 Pisa, ItalyInstitute of Neuroscience of the CNR, 56124 Pisa, ItalyInstitute of Neuroscience of the CNR, 56124 Pisa, ItalyEnvironmental enrichment (EE) is known to enhance learning and memory. Declarative memories are thought to undergo a first rapid and local consolidation process, followed by a prolonged process of system consolidation, which consist in a time-dependent gradual reorganization of brain regions supporting remote memory storage and crucial for the formation of enduring memories. At present, it is not known whether EE can affect the process of declarative memory system consolidation. We characterized the time course of hippocampal and cortical activation following recall of progressively more remote spatial memories. Wild-type mice either exposed to EE for 40 days or left in standard environment were subjected to spatial learning in the Morris water maze and to the probe test 1, 10, 20, 30, and 50 days after learning. Following the probe test, regional expression of the inducible immediate early gene c-Fos was mapped by immunohistochemistry, as an indicator of neuronal activity. We found that activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), suggested to have a privileged role in processing remote spatial memories, was evident at shorter time intervals after learning in EE mice; in addition, EE induced the progressive activation of a distributed cortical network not activated in non-EE mice. This suggests that EE not only accelerates the process of mPFC recruitment but also recruits additional cortical areas into the network supporting remote spatial memories.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/956312 |
| spellingShingle | Joyce Bonaccorsi Simona Cintoli Rosa Mastrogiacomo Sigrid Baldanzi Chiara Braschi Tommaso Pizzorusso Maria Cristina Cenni Nicoletta Berardi System Consolidation of Spatial Memories in Mice: Effects of Enriched Environment Neural Plasticity |
| title | System Consolidation of Spatial Memories in Mice: Effects of Enriched Environment |
| title_full | System Consolidation of Spatial Memories in Mice: Effects of Enriched Environment |
| title_fullStr | System Consolidation of Spatial Memories in Mice: Effects of Enriched Environment |
| title_full_unstemmed | System Consolidation of Spatial Memories in Mice: Effects of Enriched Environment |
| title_short | System Consolidation of Spatial Memories in Mice: Effects of Enriched Environment |
| title_sort | system consolidation of spatial memories in mice effects of enriched environment |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/956312 |
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