Prenatal enrichment and recovery from perinatal cortical damage: effects of maternal complex housing

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dc.contributor.authorGibb, Robbin L.
dc.contributor.authorGonzalez, Claudia L. R.
dc.contributor.authorKolb, Bryan
dc.date.accessioned2016-09-02T21:14:54Z
dc.date.available2016-09-02T21:14:54Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.descriptionOpen access journalen_US
dc.description.abstractBirth is a particularly vulnerable time for acquiring brain injury. Unfortunately, very few treatments are available for those affected. Here we explore the effectiveness of prenatal intervention in an animal model of early brain damage. We used a complex housing paradigm as a form of prenatal enrichment. Six nulliparous dams and one male rat were placed in complex housing (condomom group) for 12 h per day until the dams’ delivered their pups. At parturition the dams were left in their home (standard) cages with their pups. Four dams were housed in standard cages (cagemom group) throughout pregnancy and with their pups until weaning. At postnatal day 3 (P3) infants of both groups received frontal cortex removals or sham surgery. Behavioral testing began on P60 and included the Morris water task and a skilled reaching task. Brains were processed for Golgi analyses. Complex housing of the mother had a significant effect on the behavior of their pups. Control animals from condomom group outperformed those of the cagemom group in the water task. Condomom animals with lesions performed better than their cagemom cohorts in both the water task and in skilled reaching. Codomom animals showed an increase in cortical thickness at anterior planes and thalamic area at both anterior and posterior regions. Golgi analyses revealed an increase in spine density. These results suggest that prenatal enrichment alters brain organization in manner that is prophylactic for perinatal brain injury. This result could have significant implications for the prenatal management of infants expected to be at risk for difficult birth.en_US
dc.description.peer-reviewYesen_US
dc.identifier.citationGibb, R. L., Gonzalez, C. L. R., & Kolb, B. (2014). Prenatal enrichment and recovery from perinatal cortical damage: effects of maternal complex housing. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8: 223. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00223en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/4597
dc.language.isoen_CAen_US
dc.publisherFrontiers Research Foundationen_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Neuroscienceen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Lethbridgeen_US
dc.subjectComplex housingen_US
dc.subjectCortical injuryen_US
dc.subjectGolgien_US
dc.subjectRecoveryen_US
dc.subjectPlasticityen_US
dc.subjectPrenatalen_US
dc.titlePrenatal enrichment and recovery from perinatal cortical damage: effects of maternal complex housingen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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Gibb, Robbin
Gonzalez, Claudia
Kolb, Bryan