Previous studies have shown that environmental enrichment increases neurogenesis and reverses learning and memory deficits in rats with kainate-induced seizures. We tested the hypothesis that exploring a wooden pyramid for 3h/d augments neurogenesis and attenuates the learning and memory deficits following chemical lesioning of the hippocampus and motor cortex with kainic acid (KA). A pyramid exploration intervention (PEI) was created by subjecting rats to residing in a pyramidal wooden structure of 3 h/d for 30 d. We also compared the effects on neurogenesis for PEI to those for aerobic (swimming) exercise (EX) and environmental enrichment via exploration of a rectangular-shaped wooden cage. Following KA seizures, the PEI increased brain neurogenesis. Differences in measures of neurogenesis were not significantly different than those for EX and EE. Aerobic (swimming) exercise and novel environment exposures appear to increase neural plasticity and may be considered a complementary treatment for epilepsy.
Part of the book: Epilepsy
Animal models of genetic disorders that have risen due to selective breeding can be used as a valuable model to teach the basic concepts of population genetics. The Clumber Spaniel is a breed of dog created in the mid-1700s by the 4th Duc du Noailles. He selectively bred this dog for the elderly gentleman. This sleepy-looking breed survives today, though 1% suffer from severe exercise intolerance due to an autosomal-recessive founder mutation in the pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase 1 (PDP1) gene. PDP1 deficiency was long suspected to be a human metabolic disorder and described at the molecular level in 2005 by Robinson and coworkers. The Robinson group later identified a founder mutation within the PDP1 gene of the Clumber spaniel. This case clearly illustrates how a detrimental mutant allele in a small population, when selecting for phenotype, can persist in the progeny of that group. In this review, we discuss the origin of the “Founder Effect” theory and present an example of how a bottleneck that occurred during the selective breeding of the Clumber spaniel over 250 years ago led to the current genetic status of the breed. Today, genotyping can help reduce the incidence of PDP1 in the Clumber breed.
Part of the book: Population Genetics