Caporali Paola, Cutuli Debora, Gelfo Francesca, Laricchiuta Daniela, Foti Francesca, De Bartolo Paola, Mancini Laura, Angelucci Francesco, Petrosini Laura
Department of Psychology, University "Sapienza" of Rome Rome, Italy ; I.R.C.C.S. Santa Lucia Foundation Rome, Italy.
I.R.C.C.S. Santa Lucia Foundation Rome, Italy ; Department of Systemic Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata" Rome, Italy.
Front Behav Neurosci. 2014 May 30;8:195. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00195. eCollection 2014.
Environmental enrichment is usually applied immediately after weaning or in adulthood, with strong effects on CNS anatomy and behavior. To examine the hypothesis that a pre-reproductive environmental enrichment of females could affect the motor development of their offspring, female rats were reared in an enriched environment from weaning to sexual maturity, while other female rats used as controls were reared under standard conditions. Following mating with standard-reared males, all females were housed individually. To evaluate the eventual transgenerational influence of positive pre-reproductive maternal experiences, postural and motor development of male pups was analyzed from birth to weaning. Moreover, expression of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Nerve Growth Factor in different brain regions was evaluated at birth and weaning. Pre-reproductive environmental enrichment of females affected the offspring motor development, as indicated by the earlier acquisition of complex motor abilities displayed by the pups of enriched females. The earlier acquisition of motor abilities was associated with enhanced neurotrophin levels in striatum and cerebellum. In conclusion, maternal positive experiences were transgenerationally transmitted, and influenced offspring phenotype at both behavioral and biochemical levels.
环境富集通常在断奶后或成年期立即应用，对中枢神经系统的解剖结构和行为有显著影响。为了检验雌性动物在生殖前的环境富集可能影响其后代运动发育的假设，将雌性大鼠从断奶饲养至性成熟阶段，饲养于富集环境中，而将其他用作对照的雌性大鼠饲养于标准条件下。与饲养于标准环境中的雄性大鼠交配后，所有雌性大鼠单独饲养。为了评估生殖前母体积极经历的最终代际影响，分析了雄性幼崽从出生到断奶的姿势和运动发育情况。此外，在出生和断奶时评估了不同脑区中脑源性神经营养因子和神经生长因子的表达。雌性动物生殖前的环境富集影响了后代的运动发育，这表现为富集环境中雌性大鼠的幼崽更早地获得了复杂的运动能力。运动能力的提前获得与纹状体和小脑中神经营养因子水平的提高有关。总之，母体的积极经历具有代际传递性，并在行为和生化水平上影响后代的表型。
