Differential environment alters ontogeny of dopamine innervation of the orbital prefrontal cortex in gerbils

• Published in: Journal of neuroscience research 2001-01, Vol.63 (2), p.209-213
• Main Authors: Neddens, Jörg, Brandenburg, Kai, Teuchert-Noodt, Gertraud, Dawirs, Ralph R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Axons - metabolism; Axons - ultrastructure; Dopamine - metabolism; dopamine innervation; enriched environment; Environment, Controlled; Gerbillinae; impoverished environment; Male; Meriones unguiculatus; Neural Pathways - cytology; Neural Pathways - growth & development; Neural Pathways - metabolism; prefrontal cortex; Prefrontal Cortex - cytology; Prefrontal Cortex - growth & development; Prefrontal Cortex - metabolism; Sensory Deprivation - physiology
• ISSN: 0360-4012; 1097-4547
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-4547(20010115)63:2<209::AID-JNR1013>3.0.CO;2-E

In the present study, the influence of postnatal environmental conditions on the structural ontogeny of the orbital prefrontal cortex of adult gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) was examined. The animals were bred and reared either isolated in standard laboratory cages or grouped in an object‐filled environment. At the age of postnatal day 90, dopamine fibers were stained immunocytochemically and innervation density was determined in the orbital prefrontal cortex. By comparison, restricted rearing produced a restraint of the subsequent maturation of orbital prefrontal dopamine innervation, leading to adult fiber densities that were approximately 38% below those in seminaturally reared gerbils. Results are discussed in terms of activity‐dependent postnatal maturation of the cortex and adaptive neuroplasticity with regard to previously published data concerning diminished dopamine innervation in the medial prefrontal cortex (Winterfeld et al. [1998] J. Neurosci. Res. 63:209–213, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.