Modeling brain reserve: Experience-dependent neuronal plasticity in healthy and huntingtonĝ€™s disease transgenic mice

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:: Experience-dependent modification of neuronal and synaptic connectivity may represent a mechanism of relevance to the theory of brain or cognitive reserve. The authors have investigated structural correlates of synaptic function and plasticity, through analysis of dendritic morphology after environmental enrichment, a paradigm for investigation of experience-dependent plasticity. DESIGN:: Using a transgenic mouse model for Huntingtonĝ€ ™s disease (HD), R6/1 and wild-type mice were exposed to either standard housing or environmental enrichment from 4 until 20 weeks of age. MEASUREMENTS:: Golgi-stained neurons were analyzed for dendritic branching and spine density in the hippocamp..