Single enrichment variables differentially reduce age-related memory decline in female mice. Behav Neurosci 2007 Aug;121(4):679-88
Date
08/01/2007Pubmed ID
17663593DOI
10.1037/0735-7044.121.4.679Scopus ID
2-s2.0-34548851768 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 40 CitationsAbstract
The authors sought to determine how different elements of enrichment, for example, cognitive stimulation and voluntary exercise, differ in their ability to improve memory throughout the lifespan. Young, middle-aged, and aged female C57BL/6 mice received 24-hr exposure in their home cages to toys alone (cognitive stimulation), running wheels alone (exercise), or both toys and running wheels (complex enrichment) for 4 weeks prior to and then throughout spatial water maze testing. As expected, spatial memory became progressively worse with age. Exercise alone improved spatial water maze performance in young mice, whereas both exercise alone and complex enrichment improved spatial maze performance in middle-aged mice. All enrichment treatments improved spatial maze performance in aged mice. These data suggest that exercise is the most effective element of enrichment in young female mice and that both cognitive stimulation and exercise are necessary to reliably improve spatial water maze performance in aging female mice.
Author List
Harburger LL, Nzerem CK, Frick KMAuthor
Karyn Frick BA,MA,PhD Professor in the Psychology department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Age FactorsAging
Analysis of Variance
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Environment
Female
Maze Learning
Memory Disorders
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Physical Conditioning, Animal