PMID- 29251803
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20190326
LR  - 20190326
IS  - 1098-1063 (Electronic)
IS  - 1050-9631 (Print)
IS  - 1050-9631 (Linking)
VI  - 28
IP  - 3
DP  - 2018 Mar
TI  - Light modulates hippocampal function and spatial learning in a diurnal rodent 
      species: A study using male nile grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus).
PG  - 189-200
LID - 10.1002/hipo.22822 [doi]
AB  - The effects of light on cognitive function have been well-documented in human 
      studies, with brighter illumination improving cognitive performance in school 
      children, healthy adults, and patients in early stages of dementia. However, the 
      underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood. The present study examined 
      how ambient light affects hippocampal function using the diurnal Nile grass rats 
      (Arvicanthis niloticus) as the animal model. Grass rats were housed in either a 
      12:12 h bright light-dark (brLD, 1,000 lux) or dim light-dark (dimLD, 50 lux) 
      cycle. After 4 weeks, the dimLD group showed impaired spatial memory in the 
      Morris Water Maze (MWM) task. The impairment in their MWM performance were 
      reversed when the dimLD group were transferred to the brLD condition for another 
      4 weeks. The results suggest that lighting conditions influence cognitive 
      function of grass rats in a way similar to that observed in humans, such that 
      bright light is beneficial over dim light for cognitive performance. In addition 
      to the behavioral changes, grass rats in the dimLD condition exhibited reduced 
      expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus, most 
      notably in the CA1 subregion. There was also a reduction in dendritic spine 
      density in CA1 apical dendrites in dimLD as compared to the brLD group, and the 
      reduction was mostly in the number of mushroom and stubby spines. When dimLD 
      animals were transferred to the brLD condition for 4 weeks, the hippocampal BDNF 
      and dendritic spine density significantly increased. The results illustrate that 
      not only does light intensity affect cognitive performance, but that it also 
      impacts hippocampal structural plasticity. These studies serve as a starting 
      point to further understand how ambient light modulates neuronal and cognitive 
      functions in diurnal species. A mechanistic understanding of the effects of light 
      on cognition can help to identify risk factors for cognitive decline and 
      contribute to the development of more effective prevention and treatment of 
      cognitive impairment in clinical populations.
CI  - (c) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
FAU - Soler, Joel E
AU  - Soler JE
AD  - Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
FAU - Robison, Alfred J
AU  - Robison AJ
AD  - Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
AD  - Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
FAU - Nunez, Antonio A
AU  - Nunez AA
AD  - Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
AD  - Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
FAU - Yan, Lily
AU  - Yan L
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-6261-2542
AD  - Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
AD  - Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
LA  - eng
GR  - R01 MH111276/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
GR  - R01 MH111604/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
GR  - R21 NS098173/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
DEP - 20171227
PL  - United States
TA  - Hippocampus
JT  - Hippocampus
JID - 9108167
RN  - 0 (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/metabolism
MH  - Dendritic Spines/metabolism/*radiation effects
MH  - Gene Expression Regulation/radiation effects
MH  - Hippocampus/cytology/metabolism/*radiation effects
MH  - *Light
MH  - Male
MH  - Maze Learning/*radiation effects
MH  - *Muridae
MH  - Neuronal Plasticity/physiology/radiation effects
MH  - Photoperiod
MH  - Spatial Memory/radiation effects
PMC - PMC5820160
MID - NIHMS930913
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - brain-derived neurotrophic factor
OT  - diurnal
OT  - hippocampus
OT  - light
OT  - synaptic plasticity
EDAT- 2017/12/19 06:00
MHDA- 2019/03/27 06:00
PMCR- 2019/03/01
CRDT- 2017/12/19 06:00
PHST- 2017/09/21 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2017/11/09 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2017/12/14 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2017/12/19 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2019/03/27 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2017/12/19 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2019/03/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.1002/hipo.22822 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Hippocampus. 2018 Mar;28(3):189-200. doi: 10.1002/hipo.22822. Epub 2017 Dec 27.