Ferchmin P A, Eterović V A
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1987 Feb;26(2):341-9. doi: 10.1016/0091-3057(87)90128-6.
Enriched experience increases brain growth, neuronal differentiation and learning abilities. Polyamines are modulators of growth and differentiation. We studied the effect of difluoromethylornithine (DFMO, an inhibitor of putrescine synthesis) on brain growth of rats exposed either to a complex or an impoverished environment. In both environmental conditions, DFMO decreased cortical putrescine by 50% and increased spermine by 13%; spermidine remained constant. Cortical RNA was not affected significantly by DFMO but DNA was decreased exclusively in rats exposed to the impoverished environment. Environmental complexity increased cortical weight, RNA and spermidine content. These differences were larger in DFMO-injected rats than in saline controls. Since stimulants such as amphetamines also enhance the environmental effects it was conceivable that DFMO might act as a stimulant. We have measured the effect of DFMO on rats' exploratory activity and found it decreased by the drug. Therefore the enhancing effect of DFMO cannot be explained by its behavioral activity. We propose that DFMO enhances the experience-dependent brain plasticity by facilitating differentiation of neurons.
丰富的经历能促进大脑发育、神经元分化并提高学习能力。多胺是生长和分化的调节剂。我们研究了二氟甲基鸟氨酸（DFMO，一种腐胺合成抑制剂）对处于复杂或贫乏环境中的大鼠大脑发育的影响。在这两种环境条件下，DFMO使皮质腐胺减少50%，使精胺增加13%；亚精胺含量保持不变。DFMO对皮质RNA没有显著影响，但仅使处于贫乏环境中的大鼠的DNA减少。环境复杂性增加了皮质重量、RNA和亚精胺含量。在注射DFMO的大鼠中，这些差异比生理盐水对照组更大。由于诸如安非他明等兴奋剂也能增强环境效应，因此可以推测DFMO可能起到兴奋剂的作用。我们测量了DFMO对大鼠探索活动的影响，发现该药物使其降低。因此，DFMO的增强作用不能用其行为活性来解释。我们提出，DFMO通过促进神经元分化来增强经验依赖性脑可塑性。
