Skip to main content

Umbrella menu

  • SfN.org
  • eNeuro
  • The Journal of Neuroscience
  • Neuronline
  • BrainFacts.org

Main menu

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Latest Articles
    • Issue Archive
    • Editorials
    • Research Highlights
  • TOPICS
    • Cognition and Behavior
    • Development
    • Disorders of the Nervous System
    • History, Teaching and Public Awareness
    • Integrative Systems
    • Neuronal Excitability
    • Novel Tools and Methods
    • Sensory and Motor Systems
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • For the Media
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Feedback
  • SfN.org
  • eNeuro
  • The Journal of Neuroscience
  • Neuronline
  • BrainFacts.org

User menu

  • My alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
eNeuro
  • My alerts

eNeuro

Advanced Search

Submit a Manuscript
  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Latest Articles
    • Issue Archive
    • Editorials
    • Research Highlights
  • TOPICS
    • Cognition and Behavior
    • Development
    • Disorders of the Nervous System
    • History, Teaching and Public Awareness
    • Integrative Systems
    • Neuronal Excitability
    • Novel Tools and Methods
    • Sensory and Motor Systems
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • For the Media
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Feedback
PreviousNext
Research ArticleNew Research, Cognition and Behavior

Early-Age Running Enhances Activity of Adult-Born Dentate Granule Neurons Following Learning in Rats

Olga Shevtsova, Yao-Fang Tan, Christina M. Merkley, Gordon Winocur and J. Martin Wojtowicz
eNeuro 14 August 2017, 4 (4) ENEURO.0237-17.2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0237-17.2017
Olga Shevtsova
1Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S1A8, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Olga Shevtsova
Yao-Fang Tan
1Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S1A8, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Christina M. Merkley
1Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S1A8, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Gordon Winocur
2Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, Toronto, Ontario M6E2E1, Canada
3Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, K9J7B8, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Gordon Winocur
J. Martin Wojtowicz
1Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S1A8, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Article Figures & Data

Figures

  • Extended Data
  • Figure 1.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 1.

    Experimental timeline. At one month of age, a group of 40 rats was exposed to running wheel while the other group was kept in standard cages for six weeks. All rats were trained on the contextual fear conditioning (CFC) task in context A. Two weeks after training, 10 rats from each group were tested in context A, A’, or B. The remaining rats served as untested controls. Mitotic marker CldU was injected three weeks before training. Ninety minutes after the test, all animals were perfused for immunohistochemistry.

  • Figure 2.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 2.

    c- Fos activity in DG neurons. A, Fluorescent microscopic images showing c-Fos cells in the DG of control and tested rats. White arrows indicate c-Fos-labeled cells in the GCL of the DG. B, The number (mean ± SEM) of c-Fos-labeled cells per DG. Tested animals showed significantly more c-Fos+ cells per DG than controls (*p < 0.05). A similar result was obtained for the CA1 field of the hippocampus (Fig. 2-1, Extended data). C, Running and individual tested groups. Controls, non-tested cage controls; A, tested in the familiar environment; A’, tested in the similar environment; B, tested in the novel environment. The number of c-Fos+ cells was greater in all tested groups compared to controls in runners and non-runners (*p < 0.05, n = 10 rats/group).

  • Figure 3.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 3.

    Neuronal activity in adult-born neurons in runners and non-runners. A, Confocal microscopic images showing c-Fos- and CldU-labeled cells within the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the GCL. White arrows indicate dual-labeled c-Fos+/CldU+ cells in the GCL. Boxed area is enlarged in the inset showing the double-labeled cell. Scale bars, 100 µm. B, Graph showing % expression of c-Fos+ cells in CldU+ cells within DG in control and tested groups. There is a significant effect of running in memory tested group (*p < 0.05, n = 10 rats/control group; n = 30 rats/memory-tested group). No difference in cell numbers between control and tested rats in non-runners.

  • Figure 4.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 4.

    c-Fos activity in adult-born neurons is enhanced by running. A, Representative images of c-Fos+/CldU+-labeled cells within the GCL. White arrow indicates dual-labeled cells. The inset shows a high magnification view of the c-Fos+/CldU+-labeled cell. Scale bars, 50 µm. B, Absolute numbers of double-labeled c-Fos+/CldU+ cells. Comparison of tested groups (controls, context A, A’, and B) within runners and non-runners. All three tested groups have significantly more cell numbers compared to controls (*p < 0.05, n = 10 rats/control group; n = 30 rats/memory tested group). The numbers of CldU+ cells did not differ in any of the groups (Fig. 4-1, Extended data). C, Graph showing % expression of c-Fos in CldU cells. Controls, non-tested cage controls; A, tested in the familiar environment; A’, tested in the similar environment; B, tested in the novel environment. The percentage of c-Fos expression in CldU cells was greater in all tested groups compared to controls in runners (*p < 0.05, n = 10 rats/group).

  • Figure 5.
    • Download figure
    • Open in new tab
    • Download powerpoint
    Figure 5.

    Results of CFC training and testing. Early running did not affect acquisition of the CF response during training. There were no differences among the group A (familiar environment) tested animals. The group A’ (similar environment) showed significantly (**p = 0.01) less freezing in runners. The group B (different environment) showed significantly (*p < 0.05) less freezing in runners.

Extended Data

  • Figures
  • Figure 2-1

    Activity-dependent regulation of c-Fos in the CA1 area of the hippocampus. Number (mean ± SEM) of c-Fos-labeled cells per CA1. Tested rats had significantly more cFos+ cells per CA1 compared to controls. Two-way ANOVA shows an effect of testing (F(3,79) = 10.838, *p = 0.001). There was no effect of running (F(1,79) = 1.131, p = 0.291) and no interaction (F(3,79) = 2.151, p = 0.101). Download Figure 2-1, TIF file.

  • Figure 4-1

    Cell survival in the DG. Graph showing number (mean ± SEM) of CldU-labeled cells per DG. No difference in the number of CldU+ cells was detected between groups. Two-way ANOVA shows no effect of running (F(1,79) = 1.749, p = 0.19), testing (F(1,79) = 0.56, p = 0.453) and no interactions. Download Figure 4-1, TIF file.

Back to top

In this issue

eneuro: 4 (4)
eNeuro
Vol. 4, Issue 4
July/August 2017
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Email

Thank you for sharing this eNeuro article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Early-Age Running Enhances Activity of Adult-Born Dentate Granule Neurons Following Learning in Rats
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from eNeuro
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in eNeuro.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Print
View Full Page PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Early-Age Running Enhances Activity of Adult-Born Dentate Granule Neurons Following Learning in Rats
Olga Shevtsova, Yao-Fang Tan, Christina M. Merkley, Gordon Winocur, J. Martin Wojtowicz
eNeuro 14 August 2017, 4 (4) ENEURO.0237-17.2017; DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0237-17.2017

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Share
Early-Age Running Enhances Activity of Adult-Born Dentate Granule Neurons Following Learning in Rats
Olga Shevtsova, Yao-Fang Tan, Christina M. Merkley, Gordon Winocur, J. Martin Wojtowicz
eNeuro 14 August 2017, 4 (4) ENEURO.0237-17.2017; DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0237-17.2017
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Significance Statement
    • Introduction
    • Materials and Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Acknowledgments
    • Footnotes
    • References
    • Synthesis
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Keywords

  • adult neurogenesis
  • dentate gyrus
  • hippocampus
  • learning and memory
  • Plasticity

Responses to this article

Respond to this article

Jump to comment:

No eLetters have been published for this article.

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

New Research

  • SRF is required for maintenance of astrocytes in non-reactive state in the mammalian brain
  • Mapping sex-specific neurodevelopmental alterations in neurite density and morphology in a rat genetic model of psychiatric illness
  • Lytic cell death in specific microglial subsets is required for preventing atypical behavior in mice
Show more New Research

Cognition and Behavior

  • Context Memory Encoding and Retrieval Temporal Dynamics Are Modulated by Attention across the Adult Lifespan
  • Noise in neurons and synapses enables reliable associative memory storage in local cortical circuits
  • Striatal RGS7 regulates depression-related behaviors and stress-induced reinstatement of cocaine conditioned place preference
Show more Cognition and Behavior

Subjects

  • Cognition and Behavior
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Facebook
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on Twitter
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on LinkedIn
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Youtube
  • Follow our RSS feeds

Content

  • Early Release
  • Current Issue
  • Latest Articles
  • Issue Archive
  • Blog
  • Browse by Topic

Information

  • For Authors
  • For the Media

About

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Feedback
(eNeuro logo)
(SfN logo)

Copyright © 2021 by the Society for Neuroscience.
eNeuro eISSN: 2373-2822

The ideas and opinions expressed in eNeuro do not necessarily reflect those of SfN or the eNeuro Editorial Board. Publication of an advertisement or other product mention in eNeuro should not be construed as an endorsement of the manufacturer’s claims. SfN does not assume any responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from or related to any use of any material contained in eNeuro.