There is growing evidence that new neurons are generated in the hippocampus of adult animals throughout life and it has been hypothesized that hippocampal neurogenesis plays a critical role in memory function. Memory is an important component of mental health and thus it is crucial to understand regulation of neurogenesis. The proposed study will investigate the relationship between environmental complexity and hippocampal plasticity in food-caching birds. Enriched environment appears to induce adult neurogenesis but it is not clear which specific aspects of environment are responsible for facilitating neurogenesis. In addition, all experiments investigating environmental enrichment have been done in laboratory conditions, which are always poor compared to natural environment. This study will investigate whether natural memory-based experiences are necessary to maintain hippocampal structure and whether lack of such experiences results in reduced hippocampal volume, loss of hippocampal neurons and reduced neurogenesis using a novel animal model - food-caching birds. Food-caching birds are heavily dependent on memory to find previously made food caches and cache-recovery behavior presents a great natural model to study memory and the brain both in controlled laboratory and natural conditions. Birds living in natural conditions will be compared to the birds maintained in standard and in enriched laboratory conditions to establish whether hippocampal neurogenesis in enriched laboratory conditions is comparable to that in animals living in natural environments. The overall aim of this proposal is to evaluate the relationships between natural memory-based experiences and the hippocampus both in laboratory and in natural conditions using a novel animal model. This study will provide new information on the effects of memory exercise on the hippocampal structure and neurogenesis, which have important implications for memory and mental health. The proposed study will investigate whether exercising memory is necessary for maintaining healthy memory and the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in memory function and whether diverse environment is needed for brain maintenance. Memory is an important aspect of mental health and the proposed research will provide new insights into better understanding of human memory disorders. ? ? ?
| Roth 2nd, Timothy C; Chevalier, Dominique M; LaDage, Lara D et al. (2013) Variation in hippocampal glial cell numbers in food-caching birds from different climates. Dev Neurobiol 73:480-5 |
| Roth, Timothy C; LaDage, Lara D; Pravosudov, Vladimir V (2012) Evidence for long-term spatial memory in a parid. Anim Cogn 15:149-54 |
| Roth 2nd, Timothy C; LaDage, Lara D; Freas, Cody A et al. (2012) Variation in memory and the hippocampus across populations from different climates: a common garden approach. Proc Biol Sci 279:402-10 |
| Roth 2nd, Timothy C; Gallagher, Caitlin M; LaDage, Lara D et al. (2012) Variation in brain regions associated with fear and learning in contrasting climates. Brain Behav Evol 79:181-90 |
| Barnea, Anat; Pravosudov, Vladimir (2011) Birds as a model to study adult neurogenesis: bridging evolutionary, comparative and neuroethological approaches. Eur J Neurosci 34:884-907 |
| Roth 2nd, Timothy C; LaDage, Lara D; Pravosudov, Vladimir V (2011) Variation in hippocampal morphology along an environmental gradient: controlling for the effects of day length. Proc Biol Sci 278:2662-7 |
| Rattenborg, Niels C; Martinez-Gonzalez, Dolores; Roth 2nd, Timothy C et al. (2011) Hippocampal memory consolidation during sleep: a comparison of mammals and birds. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 86:658-91 |
| LaDage, Lara D; Roth 2nd, Timothy C; Pravosudov, Vladimir V (2011) Hippocampal neurogenesis is associated with migratory behaviour in adult but not juvenile sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys ssp.). Proc Biol Sci 278:138-43 |
| Chancellor, Leia V; Roth, Timothy C; LaDage, Lara D et al. (2011) The effect of environmental harshness on neurogenesis: a large-scale comparison. Dev Neurobiol 71:246-52 |
| LaDage, Lara D; Roth 2nd, Timothy C; Fox, Rebecca A et al. (2010) Ecologically relevant spatial memory use modulates hippocampal neurogenesis. Proc Biol Sci 277:1071-9 |
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