Environmental enrichment restores cognitive deficits induced by experimental childhood meningitis
Braz. J. Psychiatry (São Paulo, 1999, Impr.)
; 36(4): 322-329, Oct-Dec/2014. graf
Article
in En
| LILACS
| ID: lil-730589
Responsible library:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
Objective:
To evaluate the influence of environmental enrichment (EE) on memory, cytokines, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the brain of adult rats subjected to experimental pneumococcal meningitis during infancy.Methods:
On postnatal day 11, the animals received either artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or Streptococcus pneumoniae suspension intracisternally at 1 × 106 CFU/mL and remained with their mothers until age 21 days. Animals were divided into the following groups control, control + EE, meningitis, and meningitis + EE. EE began at 21 days and continued until 60 days of age (adulthood). EE consisted of a large cage with three floors, ramps, running wheels, and objects of different shapes and textures. At 60 days, animals were randomized and subjected to habituation to the open-field task and the step-down inhibitory avoidance task. After the tasks, the hippocampus and CSF were isolated for analysis.Results:
The meningitis group showed no difference in performance between training and test sessions of the open-field task, suggesting habituation memory impairment; in the meningitis + EE group, performance was significantly different, showing preservation of habituation memory. In the step-down inhibitory avoidance task, there were no differences in behavior between training and test sessions in the meningitis group, showing aversive memory impairment; conversely, differences were observed in the meningitis + EE group, demonstrating aversive memory preservation. In the two meningitis groups, IL-4, IL-10, and BDNF levels were increased in the hippocampus, and BDNF levels in the CSF.Conclusions:
The data presented suggest that EE, a non-invasive therapy, enables recovery from memory deficits caused by neonatal meningitis. .Key words
Full text:
1
Index:
LILACS
Main subject:
Cytokines
/
Cognition Disorders
/
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
/
Environmental Exposure
/
Memory Disorders
/
Meningitis, Pneumococcal
Type of study:
Evaluation_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Braz. J. Psychiatry (São Paulo, 1999, Impr.)
Journal subject:
PSIQUIATRIA
Year:
2014
Type:
Article