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Title: Maze training alters brain weights and cortical RNA/DNA ratios

Abstract

In order to test whether training leads to anatomical and chemical changes in the brain, individual rats were given self-paced trials in mazes, traversing the maze in order to get from a food station to a water station. In 30 days of this training, during which they had no social interaction, the rats developed significant increases in weight and RNA/DNA of standard samples of cerebral cortex, as compared with littermate rats in either of two control conditions: (a) rats confined to small individual cages (N = 70 per condition); (b) rats that traversed the empty maze box with no maze barriers present (N = 29 per condition). Whereas the rats who faced maze problems decreased average transit times through the maze on successive trials, the rats that traversed the empty box showed no regular trend in running times over trials. The cerebral effects of maze experience versus control conditions were similar in pattern but were smaller in magnitude than effects of experience in a social group in a multisensory complex environment. This clear evidence of cerebral changes as consequences of maze training adds further support to the indications that similar cerebral changes resulting from enriched experience are due to learningmore » rather than to other factors. The changes that follow training or enriched experience can be linked with other evidence concerning the roles of RNA and of protein synthesis in the formation of long-term memory traces.« less

Authors:
 [1]; ; ;
  1. Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
6598759
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Behav. Neural Biol.; (United States)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 26
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; BRAIN; BIOCHEMISTRY; MORPHOLOGY; LEARNING; ANATOMY; BEHAVIOR; BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS; CEREBRAL CORTEX; CONDITIONED REFLEXES; DNA; MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES; PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES; RATS; RNA; WEIGHT MEASUREMENT; ANIMALS; BODY; CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM; CEREBRUM; CHEMISTRY; MAMMALS; NERVOUS SYSTEM; NUCLEIC ACIDS; ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; ORGANS; REFLEXES; RODENTS; VERTEBRATES; 550100* - Behavioral Biology; 550200 - Biochemistry; 550800 - Morphology

Citation Formats

Bennett, E L, Rosenzweig, M R, Morimoto, H, and Hebert, M. Maze training alters brain weights and cortical RNA/DNA ratios. United States: N. p., 1979. Web. doi:10.1016/S0163-1047(79)92842-5.
Bennett, E L, Rosenzweig, M R, Morimoto, H, & Hebert, M. Maze training alters brain weights and cortical RNA/DNA ratios. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0163-1047(79)92842-5
Bennett, E L, Rosenzweig, M R, Morimoto, H, and Hebert, M. 1979. "Maze training alters brain weights and cortical RNA/DNA ratios". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0163-1047(79)92842-5.
@article{osti_6598759,
title = {Maze training alters brain weights and cortical RNA/DNA ratios},
author = {Bennett, E L and Rosenzweig, M R and Morimoto, H and Hebert, M},
abstractNote = {In order to test whether training leads to anatomical and chemical changes in the brain, individual rats were given self-paced trials in mazes, traversing the maze in order to get from a food station to a water station. In 30 days of this training, during which they had no social interaction, the rats developed significant increases in weight and RNA/DNA of standard samples of cerebral cortex, as compared with littermate rats in either of two control conditions: (a) rats confined to small individual cages (N = 70 per condition); (b) rats that traversed the empty maze box with no maze barriers present (N = 29 per condition). Whereas the rats who faced maze problems decreased average transit times through the maze on successive trials, the rats that traversed the empty box showed no regular trend in running times over trials. The cerebral effects of maze experience versus control conditions were similar in pattern but were smaller in magnitude than effects of experience in a social group in a multisensory complex environment. This clear evidence of cerebral changes as consequences of maze training adds further support to the indications that similar cerebral changes resulting from enriched experience are due to learning rather than to other factors. The changes that follow training or enriched experience can be linked with other evidence concerning the roles of RNA and of protein synthesis in the formation of long-term memory traces.},
doi = {10.1016/S0163-1047(79)92842-5},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6598759}, journal = {Behav. Neural Biol.; (United States)},
number = ,
volume = 26,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1979},
month = {Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1979}
}