Odor-Enriched Environment Exposure
Objective: To investigate whether exposure to an odor-enriched environment affects neurogenesis and learning in adult mice, specifically measuring the number of newborn neurons in the olfactory bulb and olfactory memory performance
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Equipment2
Materials1
Not specified • Not applicable • Not mentioned • Not mentioned
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Protocol Steps
Housing assignment
Assign adult mice to either standard or odor-enriched housing environments
Note: Two experimental groups: standard environment control and odor-enriched environment treatment
View evidence from paper
“Animals housed in either a standard or an odor-enriched environment for 40 d”
BrdU injection
Inject bromodeoxyuridine intraperitoneally to detect proliferation among progenitor cells
Note: Intraperitoneal injection route used
View evidence from paper
“were injected intraperitoneally with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) to detect proliferation among progenitor cells”
Early timepoint assessment
Assess the number of BrdU-labeled neurons at 4 hours after BrdU injection
Note: No significant alterations were observed at this early timepoint
View evidence from paper
“The number of BrdU-labeled neurons was not altered 4 hr after a single BrdU injection”
Late timepoint assessment
Assess the number of surviving progenitors in the main olfactory bulb at 3 weeks after BrdU injection
Note: Marked increase in surviving progenitors observed in odor-enriched environment group
View evidence from paper
“the number of surviving progenitors 3 weeks after BrdU injection was markedly increased in animals housed in an enriched environment”
Hippocampal neurogenesis assessment
Assess hippocampal neurogenesis to determine specificity of odor enrichment effects
Note: Enriched odor exposure did not influence hippocampal neurogenesis, demonstrating specificity to olfactory bulb
View evidence from paper
“enriched odor exposure did not influence hippocampal neurogenesis”
Olfactory memory testing
Test olfactory memory performance in adult mice housed in odor-enriched versus standard cages
Note: Improved olfactory memory observed in odor-enriched group
View evidence from paper
“adult mice housed in odor-enriched cages display improved olfactory memory”
Spatial learning assessment
Test spatial learning performance to assess whether odor enrichment affects non-olfactory cognitive domains
Note: No change in spatial learning performance observed between groups
View evidence from paper
“without a change in spatial learning performance”