Environmental enrichment attenuates conditioned taste aversion through the restoration of BDNF levels in the insular cortex

• Published in: Behavioural brain research 2022-07, Vol.430, p.113947-113947, Article 113947
• Main Authors: Gutiérrez-Vera, Beatriz, Rivera-Olvera, Alejandro, Escobar, Martha L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: BDNF; CTA; Environmental enrichment; Insular cortex
• ISSN: 0166-4328; 1872-7549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113947

It has been shown that exposure to an enriched environment (EE) can modulate the physiological impact of aversive stimuli in animals, promoting adaptive attitudes, as well as the development of resilience to stressful situations. These changes are known to be related to increased levels of some trophic factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which has been considered a regulatory protein for synaptic plasticity in the adult brain. Our previous studies have demonstrated that in the insular cortex (IC), a brain region of the temporal lobe implicated in the acquisition, consolidation, and retention of conditioned taste aversion (CTA) task, BDNF can reverse the CTA memory deficit caused by a protein synthesis inhibitor. Likewise, our research group have also shown that BDNF is required for the maintenance of CTA long-term memory. Here we evaluate the effects of the exposure to an enriched environment on the CTA memory strength, using a weak and strong version of this paradigm. The exposure to an EE for 21 days was able to attenuate the strong-CTA response through the restoration of BDNF levels in the IC of adult rats. These results provide evidence that environmental enrichment is capable of reducing the strength of an aversive memory trace, restoring the BDNF levels in a neocortical region of the adult brain. •Exposure to an EE attenuates the strength of aversion in a strong-CTA.•EE restores BDNF levels in the IC affected by CTA training.•Exposure to an EE does not modify the strength of aversion in a weak-CTA.