Effects of enriched environment on barrel cortex and hippocampus function following somatosensory damage in rat.

Objectives: This study investigated the effects of environmental enrichment (EE) on the behavior and histological alterations of rats with barrel cortex damage.

Methods: Forty-eight adult male rats were divided into Control (Ctrl), Lesion, Lesion+EE.S (Lesion+Standard Enriched Environment, and Lesion+EE.T (Lesion+Tactile Enriched Environment) groups. The animals were first anesthetized, and then, a cold lesion model was performed on the parietal cortex. After surgery, the rats were exposed to a standard enriched environment or enriched environment with tactile for 30 days. Their cognitive behaviors were assessed using an open field, novel texture discrimination, and Morris water maze (MWM) tests. In addition, a histological investigation was conducted to determine the degree of degeneration of hippocampal and somatosensory cortex neurons.

Results: The results demonstrated that rats with barrel cortex lesions revealed impairments in novel texture discrimination and MWM tests (P<0.001). Moreover, lesions increased neuronal degeneration in rats' barrel cortex and hippocampus (P< 0.001). Environmental enrichment improved behavioral deficits and decreased neuronal degeneration in the barrel cortex and hippocampus of rats with barrel cortex lesions (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The current study suggests that barrel cortex lesions create cognitive and behavioral deficits and neural degeneration in the barrel cortex and hippocampus; however, environmental enrichment could reverse these impairments.