NADPH-d positive neurons in the developing somatosensory cortex of the rat: effects of early and late environmental enrichment
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Date
1998
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ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Abstract
The effects of environmental enrichment upon the topographic arrangement of NADPH diaphorase-positive neurons (NADPH-d(+) neurons) was studied in the somatosensory cortex of 56 Sprague-Dawley albino rats during early stages of development (18th, 24th, 30th and 60th postnatal days). This diaphorase is easily demonstrable, providing a convenient marker for quantitative studies. Environmental enrichment diminished the number of NADPH-d(+) neurons and exerted its maximal influence during lactation, a time of exceptional cortical susceptibility. This implies that the magnitude of such effects on the density of NADPH-d(+) neurons is age-dependent. Furthermore, it was found that the experience-dependent cortical changes persisted after a subsequent period without environmental stimulation. The effects of early environmental enrichment did not occur uniformly throughout the cerebral hemispheres but, instead, such effects were maximal in the latero-ventral sector of the cerebral cortex where a dramatic reduction in the number of NADPH-d(+) neurons was observed. Particularly striking was the existence of a latero-medial sequence of NADPH-d(+) neurons in the infragranular layer and a reversed distribution of labeled cells, in the supragranular layer. Both ontogenetic sequences of NADPH-d(+) neurons remained unchanged during postnatal development in controls and enriched subjects (18th-60th postnatal days). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.
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Keywords
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase neuron, environmental enrichment, persistence, histogenetic gradient, somatosensory cortex, rat, CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM, NITRIC-OXIDE, CEREBRAL-CORTEX, MOTOR CORTEX, INFARCTION, NEOCORTEX, GROWTH, CELLS, GOLGI, GRADIENTS