Ohlsson A L, Johansson B B
Department of Neurology, Lund University Hospital, Sweden.
Stroke. 1995 Apr;26(4):644-9. doi: 10.1161/01.str.26.4.644.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether preoperative and postoperative enrichment of the environment can enhance the functional outcome after cerebral infarction in rats.
The right middle cerebral artery was ligated in adult spontaneously hypertensive male rats, and the functional outcome was studied for 12 weeks after the operation. Three groups were compared: A, rats kept in individual cages before and after the operation (n = 9); B, rats kept in individual cages before the operation but transferred to an enriched environment after the operation (n = 10); and C, rats kept in an enriched environment all the time (n = 12). The enriched environment consisted of a large cage with opportunities for various activities, but rats were not forced to do any particular tasks.
Rats kept in an enriched environment (groups B and C) performed significantly better than rats in group A in a leg-placement test, beam walking, walking on a rotating pole, and climbing. The infarct size and thalamic atrophy did not differ among the groups.
The laboratory environment is important for the functional outcome in brain ischemia. We hypothesize that an enriched environment may stimulate mechanisms that enhance brain plasticity after focal brain ischemia.
本研究旨在确定术前和术后丰富环境能否改善大鼠脑梗死的功能结局。
结扎成年自发性高血压雄性大鼠的右侧大脑中动脉，并在术后12周研究其功能结局。比较三组：A组，术前和术后均饲养在单独笼中（n = 9）；B组，术前饲养在单独笼中，但术后转移至丰富环境（n = 10）；C组，一直饲养在丰富环境中（n = 12）。丰富环境包括一个大笼子，有各种活动机会，但大鼠不被强迫执行任何特定任务。
在腿部放置试验、走横梁、在旋转杆上行走和攀爬方面，饲养在丰富环境中的大鼠（B组和C组）表现明显优于A组大鼠。各组间梗死灶大小和丘脑萎缩情况无差异。
实验室环境对脑缺血的功能结局很重要。我们推测，丰富环境可能刺激局灶性脑缺血后增强脑可塑性的机制。
