Department of Anatomy, Neuroscience Laboratory for Cognitive and Developmental Disorders, Medical College of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong, China.
Department of Anatomy, Neuroscience Laboratory for Cognitive and Developmental Disorders, Medical College of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong, China; Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong, China.
Brain Res. 2023 Apr 1;1804:148264. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2023.148264. Epub 2023 Jan 23.
Cognitive impairment is one of the most common symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). However, there is a lack of easily implementable rehabilitation strategies. As an easy-to-implement strategy, numerous studies suggest that enriched environment (EE) can be beneficial for cognitive function. However, the effects of EE on learning and memory, as well as dendritic spines plasticity in HE is still unclear. Accordingly, in the present study, we evaluated the effects of EE on the behavior and dendritic spine morphology in an animal model of HE. Our results showed that HE mice have no movement disorder and anxiety, but they exhibit spatial learning and memory dysfunction. Further analysis revealed that the complexity of the dendrites and the maturity of the dendritic spines are reduced in the hippocampus of HE mice. After 4 weeks of housekeeping in EE, dendritic complexity, and dendritic spine maturity, as well as the spatial learning and memory function of HE mice were restored. In conclusion, exposure to EE can positively influence dendritic spines plasticity in the hippocampus and thereby elicit its beneficial effects on cognitive functions in HE.
认知障碍是肝性脑病（HE）最常见的症状之一。然而，目前缺乏易于实施的康复策略。作为一种易于实施的策略，许多研究表明丰富环境（EE）对认知功能有益。然而，EE 对 HE 学习和记忆以及树突棘可塑性的影响尚不清楚。因此，在本研究中，我们评估了 EE 对 HE 动物模型行为和树突棘形态的影响。我们的结果表明，HE 小鼠没有运动障碍和焦虑，但表现出空间学习和记忆功能障碍。进一步分析表明，HE 小鼠海马中的树突复杂性和树突棘成熟度降低。经过 4 周的 EE 日常管理，HE 小鼠的树突复杂性、树突棘成熟度以及空间学习和记忆功能得到恢复。总之，暴露于 EE 可以积极影响海马中的树突棘可塑性，从而对 HE 中的认知功能产生有益影响。
