Housing Complexity Alters GFAP-Immunoreactive Astrocyte Morphology in the Rat Dentate Gyrus
Rats used in research are typically housed singly in cages with limited sensory stimulation. There is substantial evidence that housing rats in these conditions lead to numerous neuroanatomical and behavioral abnormalities. Alternatively, rats can be housed in an enriched environment in which rats a...
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Wiley
2016-01-01
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| Series: | Neural Plasticity |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3928726 |
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| author | Garrick Salois Jeffrey S. Smith |
| author_facet | Garrick Salois Jeffrey S. Smith |
| author_sort | Garrick Salois |
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| description | Rats used in research are typically housed singly in cages with limited sensory stimulation. There is substantial evidence that housing rats in these conditions lead to numerous neuroanatomical and behavioral abnormalities. Alternatively, rats can be housed in an enriched environment in which rats are housed in groups and given room for exercise and exploration. Enriched environments result in considerable neuroplasticity in the rodent brain. In the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, enriched environments evoke especially profound neural changes, including increases in the number of neurons and the number of dendritic spines. However, whether changes in astrocytes, a type of glia increasingly implicated in mediating neuroplasticity, are concurrent with these neural changes remains to be investigated. In order to assess morphological changes among astrocytes of the rat dentate gyrus, piSeeDB was used to optically clear 250 μm sections of tissue labeled using GFAP immunohistochemistry. Confocal imaging and image analysis were then used to measure astrocyte morphology. Astrocytes from animals housed in EE demonstrated a reduced distance between filament branch points. Furthermore, the most complex astrocytes were significantly more complex among animals housed in EE compared to standard environments. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-5904 1687-5443 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Neural Plasticity |
| spelling | doaj-art-ad9c839cd662481381bf8fa0b32f16312025-02-03T01:03:37ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432016-01-01201610.1155/2016/39287263928726Housing Complexity Alters GFAP-Immunoreactive Astrocyte Morphology in the Rat Dentate GyrusGarrick Salois0Jeffrey S. Smith1The Brain Research Laboratory, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI 48710, USAThe Brain Research Laboratory, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI 48710, USARats used in research are typically housed singly in cages with limited sensory stimulation. There is substantial evidence that housing rats in these conditions lead to numerous neuroanatomical and behavioral abnormalities. Alternatively, rats can be housed in an enriched environment in which rats are housed in groups and given room for exercise and exploration. Enriched environments result in considerable neuroplasticity in the rodent brain. In the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, enriched environments evoke especially profound neural changes, including increases in the number of neurons and the number of dendritic spines. However, whether changes in astrocytes, a type of glia increasingly implicated in mediating neuroplasticity, are concurrent with these neural changes remains to be investigated. In order to assess morphological changes among astrocytes of the rat dentate gyrus, piSeeDB was used to optically clear 250 μm sections of tissue labeled using GFAP immunohistochemistry. Confocal imaging and image analysis were then used to measure astrocyte morphology. Astrocytes from animals housed in EE demonstrated a reduced distance between filament branch points. Furthermore, the most complex astrocytes were significantly more complex among animals housed in EE compared to standard environments.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3928726 |
| spellingShingle | Garrick Salois Jeffrey S. Smith Housing Complexity Alters GFAP-Immunoreactive Astrocyte Morphology in the Rat Dentate Gyrus Neural Plasticity |
| title | Housing Complexity Alters GFAP-Immunoreactive Astrocyte Morphology in the Rat Dentate Gyrus |
| title_full | Housing Complexity Alters GFAP-Immunoreactive Astrocyte Morphology in the Rat Dentate Gyrus |
| title_fullStr | Housing Complexity Alters GFAP-Immunoreactive Astrocyte Morphology in the Rat Dentate Gyrus |
| title_full_unstemmed | Housing Complexity Alters GFAP-Immunoreactive Astrocyte Morphology in the Rat Dentate Gyrus |
| title_short | Housing Complexity Alters GFAP-Immunoreactive Astrocyte Morphology in the Rat Dentate Gyrus |
| title_sort | housing complexity alters gfap immunoreactive astrocyte morphology in the rat dentate gyrus |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3928726 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT garricksalois housingcomplexityaltersgfapimmunoreactiveastrocytemorphologyintheratdentategyrus AT jeffreyssmith housingcomplexityaltersgfapimmunoreactiveastrocytemorphologyintheratdentategyrus |