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Chen CC, Brumberg JC. Sensory Experience as a Regulator of Structural Plasticity in the Developing Whisker-to-Barrel System. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 15:770453. [PMID: 35002626 PMCID: PMC8739903 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.770453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cellular structures provide the physical foundation for the functionality of the nervous system, and their developmental trajectory can be influenced by the characteristics of the external environment that an organism interacts with. Historical and recent works have determined that sensory experiences, particularly during developmental critical periods, are crucial for information processing in the brain, which in turn profoundly influence neuronal and non-neuronal cortical structures that subsequently impact the animals' behavioral and cognitive outputs. In this review, we focus on how altering sensory experience influences normal/healthy development of the central nervous system, particularly focusing on the cerebral cortex using the rodent whisker-to-barrel system as an illustrative model. A better understanding of structural plasticity, encompassing multiple aspects such as neuronal, glial, and extra-cellular domains, provides a more integrative view allowing for a deeper appreciation of how all aspects of the brain work together as a whole.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Chien Chen
- Department of Psychology, Queens College City University of New York, Flushing, NY, United States.,Department of Neuroscience, Duke Kunshan University, Suzhou, China
| | - Joshua C Brumberg
- Department of Psychology, Queens College City University of New York, Flushing, NY, United States.,The Biology (Neuroscience) and Psychology (Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience) PhD Programs, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
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2
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Augusto-Oliveira M, Arrifano GP, Takeda PY, Lopes-Araújo A, Santos-Sacramento L, Anthony DC, Verkhratsky A, Crespo-Lopez ME. Astroglia-specific contributions to the regulation of synapses, cognition and behaviour. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 118:331-357. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.07.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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3
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Bengoetxea H, Rico-Barrio I, Ortuzar N, Murueta-Goyena A, Lafuente JV. Environmental Enrichment Reverses Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor-Mediated Impairment Through BDNF-TrkB Pathway. Mol Neurobiol 2019; 55:43-59. [PMID: 28842826 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-017-0716-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to an enriched environment (EE) has neuroprotective benefits and improves recovery from brain injury due to, among other, increased neurotrophic factor expression. Through these neurotrophins, important cortical and hippocampal changes occur. Vandetanib acts as a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of cell receptors, among others, the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR). Our aim was to investigate the effectiveness of EE counteracting cognitive and cellular effects after tyrosine kinase receptor blockade. Animals were reared under standard laboratory condition or EE; both groups received vandetanib or vehicle. Visuospatial learning was tested with Morris water maze. Neuronal, interneuronal, and vascular densities were measured by inmunohistochemistry and histochemistry techniques. Quantifications were performed in the hippocampus and in the visual cortex. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), tyrosine kinase B receptor (TrkB), Akt, and Erk were measured by Western blot technique. Vandetanib produces a significant decrease in vascular and neuronal densities and reduction in the expression of molecules involved in survival and proliferation processes such as phospho-Akt/Akt and phospho-Erk/Erk. These results correlated to a cognitive impairment in visuospatial test. On the other hand, animals reared in an EE are able to reverse the negative effects, activating PI3K-AKT and MAP kinase pathways mediated by BDNF-TrkB binding. Present results provide novel and consistent evidences about the usefulness of living in EE as a strategy to improve deleterious effects of blocking neurotrophic pathways by vandetanib and the notable role of the BDNF-TrkB pathway to balance the neurovascular unit and cognitive effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harkaitz Bengoetxea
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience (LaNCE), Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940, Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain.
| | - Irantzu Rico-Barrio
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena, E-48940, Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Naiara Ortuzar
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience (LaNCE), Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940, Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - Ane Murueta-Goyena
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience (LaNCE), Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940, Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - José V Lafuente
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience (LaNCE), Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940, Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain.,Nanoneurosurgery Group, BioCruces Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Bizkaia, Spain.,Faculty of Health Science, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago de Chile, Chile
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4
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Koester-Hegmann C, Bengoetxea H, Kosenkov D, Thiersch M, Haider T, Gassmann M, Schneider Gasser EM. High-Altitude Cognitive Impairment Is Prevented by Enriched Environment Including Exercise via VEGF Signaling. Front Cell Neurosci 2019; 12:532. [PMID: 30687018 PMCID: PMC6335396 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2018.00532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 12/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposure to hypobaric hypoxia at high altitude (above 2500 m asl) causes cognitive impairment, mostly attributed to changes in brain perfusion and consequently neuronal death. Enriched environment and voluntary exercise has been shown to improve cognitive function, to enhance brain microvasculature and neurogenesis, and to be neuroprotective. Here we show that high-altitude exposure (3540 m asl) of Long Evans rats during early adulthood (P48-P59) increases brain microvasculature and neurogenesis but impairs spatial and visual memory along with an increase in neuronal apoptosis. We tested whether enriched environment including a running wheel for voluntary exercise (EE) can prevent cognitive impairment at high-altitude and whether apoptosis is prevented. We found that EE retained spatial and visual memory at high altitude, and prevented neuronal apoptosis. Further, we tested whether vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling is required for the EE-mediated recovery of spatial and visual memory and the reduction in apoptosis. Pharmacological inhibition of VEGF signaling by oral application of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (Vandetanib) prevented the recovery of spatial and visual memory in animals housed in EE, along with an increase in apoptosis and a reduction in neurogenesis. Surprisingly, inhibition of VEGF signaling also caused impairment in spatial memory in EE-housed animals reared at low altitude, affecting mainly dentate gyrus microvasculature but not neurogenesis. We conclude that EE-mediated VEGF signaling is neuroprotective and essential for the maintenance of cognition and neurogenesis during high-altitude exposure, and for the maintenance of spatial memory at low altitude. Finally, our data also underlines the potential risk of cognitive impairment and disturbed high altitude adaption from the use of VEGF-signaling inhibitors for therapeutic purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Koester-Hegmann
- Neuroprotection Group, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Harkaitz Bengoetxea
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience (LaNCE), Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
| | - Dmitry Kosenkov
- Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Markus Thiersch
- Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Haider
- Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Max Gassmann
- Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH), Lima, Peru
| | - Edith M Schneider Gasser
- Neuroprotection Group, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroscience Zurich (ZNZ), Zurich, Switzerland
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Abstract
Early blindness causes fundamental alterations of neural function across more than 25% of cortex-changes that span the gamut from metabolism to behavior and collectively represent one of the most dramatic examples of plasticity in the human brain. The goal of this review is to describe how the remarkable behavioral and neuroanatomical compensations demonstrated by blind individuals provide insights into the extent, mechanisms, and limits of human brain plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ione Fine
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
| | - Ji-Min Park
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
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Tatsumi K, Okuda H, Morita-Takemura S, Tanaka T, Isonishi A, Shinjo T, Terada Y, Wanaka A. Voluntary Exercise Induces Astrocytic Structural Plasticity in the Globus Pallidus. Front Cell Neurosci 2016; 10:165. [PMID: 27445692 PMCID: PMC4914586 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2016.00165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2016] [Accepted: 06/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in astrocyte morphology are primarily attributed to the fine processes where intimate connections with neurons form the tripartite synapse and participate in neurotransmission. Recent evidence has shown that neurotransmission induces dynamic synaptic remodeling, suggesting that astrocytic fine processes may adapt their morphologies to the activity in their environment. To illustrate such a neuron-glia relationship in morphological detail, we employed a double transgenic Olig2CreER/WT; ROSA26-GAP43-EGFP mice, in which Olig2-lineage cells can be visualized and traced with membrane-targeted GFP. Although Olig2-lineage cells in the adult brain usually become mature oligodendrocytes or oligodendrocyte precursor cells with NG2-proteoglycan expression, we found a population of Olig2-lineage astrocytes with bushy morphology in several brain regions. The globus pallidus (GP) preferentially contains Olig2-lineage astrocytes. Since the GP exerts pivotal motor functions in the indirect pathway of the basal ganglionic circuit, we subjected the double transgenic mice to voluntary wheel running to activate the GP and examined morphological changes of Olig2-lineage astrocytes at both the light and electron microscopic levels. The double transgenic mice were divided into three groups: control group mice were kept in a cage with a locked running wheel for 3 weeks, Runner group were allowed free access to a running wheel for 3 weeks, and the Runner-Rest group took a sedentary 3-week rest after a 3-week running period. GFP immunofluorescence analysis and immunoelectron microscopy revealed that astrocytic fine processes elaborated complex arborization in the Runner mice, and reverted to simple morphology comparable to that of the Control group in the Runner-Rest group. Our results indicated that the fine processes of the Olig2-lineage astrocytes underwent plastic changes that correlated with overall running activities, suggesting that they actively participate in motor functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kouko Tatsumi
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Nara Medical University Kashihara, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Okuda
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Nara Medical UniversityKashihara, Japan; Department of Functional Anatomy, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa UniversityKanazawa, Japan
| | - Shoko Morita-Takemura
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Nara Medical University Kashihara, Japan
| | - Tatsuhide Tanaka
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Nara Medical University Kashihara, Japan
| | - Ayami Isonishi
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Nara Medical University Kashihara, Japan
| | - Takeaki Shinjo
- Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Nara Medical University Kashihara, Japan
| | - Yuki Terada
- Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Nara Medical University Kashihara, Japan
| | - Akio Wanaka
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Nara Medical University Kashihara, Japan
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Coullon GSL, Emir UE, Fine I, Watkins KE, Bridge H. Neurochemical changes in the pericalcarine cortex in congenital blindness attributable to bilateral anophthalmia. J Neurophysiol 2015; 114:1725-33. [PMID: 26180125 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00567.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2015] [Accepted: 07/15/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Congenital blindness leads to large-scale functional and structural reorganization in the occipital cortex, but relatively little is known about the neurochemical changes underlying this cross-modal plasticity. To investigate the effect of complete and early visual deafferentation on the concentration of metabolites in the pericalcarine cortex, (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed in 14 sighted subjects and 5 subjects with bilateral anophthalmia, a condition in which both eyes fail to develop. In the pericalcarine cortex, where primary visual cortex is normally located, the proportion of gray matter was significantly greater, and levels of choline, glutamate, glutamine, myo-inositol, and total creatine were elevated in anophthalmic relative to sighted subjects. Anophthalmia had no effect on the structure or neurochemistry of a sensorimotor cortex control region. More gray matter, combined with high levels of choline and myo-inositol, resembles the profile of the cortex at birth and suggests that the lack of visual input from the eyes might have delayed or arrested the maturation of this cortical region. High levels of choline and glutamate/glutamine are consistent with enhanced excitatory circuits in the anophthalmic occipital cortex, which could reflect a shift toward enhanced plasticity or sensitivity that could in turn mediate or unmask cross-modal responses. Finally, it is possible that the change in function of the occipital cortex results in biochemical profiles that resemble those of auditory, language, or somatosensory cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaelle S L Coullon
- Functional MRI of the Brain Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Uzay E Emir
- Functional MRI of the Brain Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Ione Fine
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Kate E Watkins
- Functional MRI of the Brain Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Holly Bridge
- Functional MRI of the Brain Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom;
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