Enrich the environment to empower the brain

Environmental enrichment (EE) has long been exploited to investigate the influence of the environment on brain structure and function. Robust morphological and functional effects elicited by EE at the neuronal level have been reported to be accompanied by improvements in cognitive performance. Recen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in neurosciences (Regular ed.) 2009-04, Vol.32 (4), p.233-239
Main Authors: Sale, Alessandro, Berardi, Nicoletta, Maffei, Lamberto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Brain
Brain - cytology
Brain - physiology
Environment
Eye and associated structures. Visual pathways and centers. Vision
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects. Models. Methods
Humans
Nervous system
Neurology
Neurons
Neurons - physiology
Neurosciences
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
Visual Pathways - growth & development
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Summary:Environmental enrichment (EE) has long been exploited to investigate the influence of the environment on brain structure and function. Robust morphological and functional effects elicited by EE at the neuronal level have been reported to be accompanied by improvements in cognitive performance. Recently, EE has been shown to accelerate the development of the visual system and to enhance visual-cortex plasticity in adulthood. These new findings highlight the potential of EE as a promising non-invasive strategy to ameliorate deficits in the maturation of the nervous system and to promote recovery of normal sensory functions in pathological conditions affecting the adult brain.
ISSN:0166-2236
1878-108X
DOI:10.1016/j.tins.2008.12.004