Induction of Striatal Neurogenesis by Voluntary Exercise and Environmental Enrichment.

, Min, Kyung Hoon; , Im, Sang Hee; , Bae, Byung Woo; , Kim, Eun Sang; , Park, Eun Sook; , Park, Chang Il; , Cho, Sung Rae

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine 2008;32(6):632-636.

Min, Kyung Hoon , Im, Sang Hee , Bae, Byung Woo , Kim, Eun Sang , Park, Eun Sook , Park, Chang Il , Cho, Sung Rae

¹Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Korea. srcho918@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr
²Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Cheju National University College of Medicine, Korea.

자발 운동 및 부유 환경 조성에 의한 선조체 내 신경세포 생성 유도

민경훈, 임상희¹, 배병우, 김은상, 박은숙, 박창일, 조성래

연세대학교 의과대학 재활의학교실 및 재활의학연구소, ¹제주대학교 의과대학 재활의학교실

Abstract

Objective
To investigate that neurogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ), which is already known as neurogenic area where neural stem/progenitor cells persist, and the striatum, which is non-neurogenic area, might be induced by voluntary exercise (VEx) or environmental enrichment (EE), and compare the extent of the neurogenesis with untreated controls.
Method
Total 12 C57BL/6 mice, 2∼3 months old, were recruited as follows; voluntary wheel runner, EE and control. For 2 weeks, VEx group was housed in rat cage (48×26 cm) with 2 running wheels with 3∼4 animals/cage, and EE group was housed in the living condition of huge cage (86×76 cm), social interaction (13∼14 mice/cage) and objects such as toys, tunnels and running wheel, whereas control group was placed in the standard cage (30×18 cm).
Results
VEx and EE tended to increase the densities of mitotic marker BrdU^＋ cells in SVZ and striatum. They also exhibited more BrdU^＋ cells (/mm³) into the striatum, even though they did not show statistical significance. Moreover, EE group showed significant increment of the newly generated neurons coexpressed with BrdU^＋and ՂIII-tubulin^＋(/mm³) in SVZ and striatum as compared to those of controls.
Conclusion
Voluntary physical exercise and EE induced cell proliferation and neurogenesis in both SVZ and striatum. Characteristically, EE could significantly induce neurogenesis in striatum, non-neurogenic area as well as SVZ, typical neurogenic area. Therefore, this strategy might be used to activate neural regeneration in various central nervous system diseases. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2008; 32: 632-636)

Key Words: Voluntary exercise, Environmental enrichment, Neurogenesis, Subventricular zone, Striatum