Abstract
During the last 20 years the anatomical plasticity of the brain in response to sensory stimulation has been clearly demonstrated. This paper reviews the effects of environments rich in sensory stimulation versus those which are stimulus poor. Effects have been noted at all levels from the gross anatomical to the electromicroscopic. As compared to their stimulus-deprived counterparts, animals reared in complex environments tend to display greater cerebral weight and length and cortical depth. The greatest effects occur in the occipital cortex where histological studies have revealed expanded neuron perikaryonal and nuclear size and dendritic branching, more dendritic spines, alterations in synaptic numbers and morphology, and greater numbers of neuroglia. Different cortical areas and layers respond to different degrees. Some responses have also been noted in the underlying hippocampus, particularly in the dentate gyrus. The emerging data present a picture of a dynamic, plastic brain adapting homeostatically to the demands of its environment.
Highlights
During the last 20 years the anatomical plasticity of the brain in response to sensory stimulation has been clearly demonstrated
This paper reviews the effects of environments rich in sensory stimulation versus those which are stimulus poor
The greatest effects occur in the occipital cortex where histological studies have revealed expanded neuron perikaryonal and nuclear size and dendritic branching, more dendritic spines, alterations in synaptic numbers and morphology, and greater numbers of neuroglia
Summary
Departmmt of’Psychiatrj9and Human Behavior, University of California,Irvine (Received May 19, 1980). The first is essentially one of response detection in which attention focuses on detecting those parameters which show significant effects This stage establishes the existence of a research field and allows the development of other stages which examine such factors as the temporal profiles of the responses, the nature of the environmental stimuli which are effective in eliciting responses, and the nature of the psychological, physiological and chemical mechanisms which mediate the production of the observed effects. The present paper will focus on a review and analysis of the responses themselves, examining their nature, magnitude and specificity, and within the current limits of knowledge attempting to assess their functional significance To do this the nature of the complex and deprived environments will first be noted and their effects on brain will be examined, starting first with the grosser anatomical parameters such as weight and cerebral size and moving to finer and finer levels
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