Pyramid Exploration Intervention, Environmental Enrichment, Aerobic Swimming Exercise and Brain Neuroplasticity in the Kainate Rat Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Abstract

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.