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Enriched housing masks deficits in place navigation induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate
1Neuroscience Research Unit, Nipissing University College, North Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Insights
Environmental enrichment can counteract behavioral deficits caused by early-life exposure to monosodium-L-glutamate (MSG). Enriched conditions improved performance in MSG-exposed rats, suggesting a protective effect.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Early-life exposure to monosodium-L-glutamate (MSG) has been linked to behavioral deficits.
- Environmental housing conditions can significantly influence neurodevelopment and behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of environmental housing on MSG-induced behavioral deficits in rats.
- To determine if enriched housing can mitigate the negative effects of early MSG exposure.
Main Methods:
- Male Wistar rat pups received MSG or saline injections from days 2-11 postpartum.
- Post-weaning, rats were housed in either enriched (EC) or impoverished (IC) conditions.
- Behavioral testing included open field and place navigation tasks.
Main Results:
- A significant interaction between housing and MSG treatment was observed.
- MSG-injected rats in impoverished housing showed deficits in the water maze.
- MSG-injected rats in enriched housing performed similarly to saline-injected controls.
Conclusions:
- Environmental enrichment can ameliorate behavioral impairments resulting from early-life MSG exposure.
- Housing conditions play a critical role in modulating the neurodevelopmental effects of excitotoxins.
Abstract:
Monosodium-L-glutamate (MSG)-induced behavioural deficits were examined under two housing conditions. Male Wistar rat pups were cross-fostered at birth and injected with MSG on days 2 to 11 postpartum. Control pups were injected with saline (Sal) of equivalent volume. Following weaning at day 25 the rats were allocated to either "enriched" (EC) or "impoverished" (IC) housing, thus forming four treatment groups: MSG-EC, MSG-IC, Sal-EC, and Sal-IC. Thirty-five days later all rats were tested in the open field and in the place navigation task. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant two-way interaction of the housing x drug variables. While the MSG-IC rats were deficient in the water maze, the performance of the MSG-EC approached that of saline-injected controls. Although the Sal-IC rats developed higher body weights than the Sal-EC rats the MSG-EC and MSG-IC rats did not differ in body weight. The housing by drug treatment interaction was not apparent in the open field.