Department of Psychology, SUNY Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500, USA.
Dev Psychobiol. 2011 Jul;53(5):456-65. doi: 10.1002/dev.20563.
Fifty years ago, Mark Rosenzweig and coworkers described environmental effects on brain chemistry and gross brain weight. William Greenough then used stereological tools, electron microscopy, and the Golgi stain to demonstrate that enrichment led to dendritic growth and synapse addition. Together these forms of plasticity accounted for cortical expansion and a reduction in cell density. In parallel with other investigators, Greenough demonstrated that these effects were not limited to the rodent, the cortex, or development, but instead generalize to many species, brain regions, and life stages. Studies of the anatomical effects of enrichment foreshadowed the recent empirical evidence for cortical volumetric increases after environmental experience and training in humans. Since research in humans is limited to regional effects, the analysis of the cellular and synaptic effects of enrichment, and their contribution to volumetric increases can inform us of the potential cellular and subcellular plasticity the leads to volume change in humans.
五十年前，马克·罗森茨威格（Mark Rosenzweig）及其同事描述了环境对大脑化学和大脑总体重量的影响。随后，威廉·格林诺（William Greenough）使用体视学工具、电子显微镜和高尔基染色来证明丰富的环境会导致树突生长和突触形成。这些形式的可塑性共同导致了皮质扩张和细胞密度降低。与其他研究人员一起，格林诺证明这些效应不仅限于啮齿动物、皮质或发育过程，而是广泛适用于许多物种、脑区和生命阶段。对丰富环境的解剖学效应的研究预示着最近在人类中发现的环境经验和训练后皮质体积增加的实证证据。由于人类的研究仅限于区域效应，因此对丰富环境的细胞和突触效应的分析及其对体积增加的贡献，可以使我们了解导致人类体积变化的潜在细胞和亚细胞可塑性。
