Abstract
Physical therapy and social interactions between the stroke patient and health care professionals or relatives facilitate the process of recovery and promote the improvement of neurological function after stroke. These observations can be mimicked in the experimental setting with the concept of enriched environment. The enriched environment is a housing condition for rodents combining social interactions and sensorimotor stimulation that improves neurological function without affecting the extent of brain damage after experimental stroke. This chapter deals with the concept of enriched housing and performing studies using enriched environment as a tool to investigate mechanisms of recovery after brain injury.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Rosamond W, et al (2007) Heart disease and stroke statistics-2007 update: a report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics SubcomÂmittee. Circulation 115:e69–171
Wolf SL, Winstein CJ, Miller JP, Taub E, Uswatte G, Morris D, Giuliani C, Light KE, Nichols-Larsen D (2006) Effect of constraint-induced movement therapy on upper extremity function 3 to 9 months after stroke: the EXCITE randomized clinical trial. JAMA 296:2095–2104
Bogey R, Hornby GT (2007) Gait training strategies utilized in poststroke rehabilitation: are we really making a difference? Top Stroke Rehabil 14:1–8
Wieloch T, Nikolich K (2006) Mechanisms of neural plasticity following brain injury. Curr Opin Neurobiol 16:258–264
Plautz EJ, Barbay S, Frost SB, Friel KM, Dancause N, Zoubina EV, Stowe AM, Quaney BM, Nudo RJ (2003) Post-infarct cortical plasticity and behavioral recovery using concurrent cortical stimulation and rehabilitative training: a feasibility study in primates. Neurol Res 25:801–810
Biernaskie J, Chernenko G, Corbett D (2004) Efficacy of rehabilitative experience declines with time after focal ischemic brain injury. J Neurosci 24:1245–1254
Johansson BB, Ohlsson AL (1996) Environment, social interaction, and physical activity as determinants of functional outcome after cerebral infarction in the rat. Exp Neurol 139:322–327
Nygren J, Wieloch T (2005) Enriched environment enhances recovery of motor function after focal ischemia in mice, and downregulates the transcription factor NGFI-A. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 25:1625–1633
Rosenzweig MR, Bennett EL (1996) Psychobiology of plasticity: effects of training and experience on brain and behavior. Behav Brain Res 78:57–65
Keyvani K, Sachser N, Witte OW, Paulus W (2004) Gene expression profiling in the intact and injured brain following environmental enrichment. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 63:598–609
Risedal A, Mattsson B, Dahlqvist P, Nordborg C, Olsson T, Johansson BB (2002) Environmental influences on functional outcome after a cortical infarct in the rat. Brain Res Bull 58:315–21
Keiner S, Wurm F, Kunze A, Witte OW, Redecker C (2008) Rehabilitative therapies differentially alter proliferation and survival of glial cell populations in the perilesional zone of cortical infarcts. Glia 56:516–527
Mattiasson GJ, Philips MF, Tomasevic G, Johansson BB, Wieloch T, McIntosh TK (2000) The rotating pole test: evaluation of its effectiveness in assessing functional motor deficits following experimental head injury in the rat. J Neurosci Methods 95:75–82
Risedal A, Zeng J, Johansson BB (1999) Early training may exacerbate brain damage after focal brain ischemia in the rat. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 19:997–1003
Johansson BB (1996) Functional outcome in rats transferred to an enriched environment 15 days after focal brain ischemia. Stroke 27:324–326
Prass K, Meisel C, Hoflich C, Braun J, Halle E, Wolf T, Ruscher K, Victorov IV, Priller J, Dirnagl U, Volk HD, Meisel A (2003) Stroke-induced immunodeficiency promotes spontaneous bacterial infections and is mediated by sympathetic activation reversal by poststroke T helper cell type 1-like immunostimulation. J Exp Med 198:725–736
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Humana Press
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Ruscher, K., Wieloch, T. (2010). Housing in an Enriched Environment: A Tool to Study Functional Recovery After Experimental Stroke. In: Dirnagl, U. (eds) Rodent Models of Stroke. Neuromethods, vol 47. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-750-1_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-750-1_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-1-60761-749-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-60761-750-1
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols