Resource: A curated database of brain-related functional gene sets (Brain.GMT).

Transcriptional profiling has become a common tool for investigating the nervous system. During analysis, differential expression results are often compared to functional ontology databases, which contain curated gene sets representing well-studied pathways. This dependence can cause neuroscience studies to be interpreted in terms of functional pathways documented in better studied tissues (e.

Adolescent environmental enrichment induces social resilience and alters neural gene expression in a selectively bred rodent model with anxious phenotype.

Stress is a major influence on mental health status; the ways that individuals respond to or copes with stressors determine whether they are negatively affected in the future. Stress responses are established by an interplay between genetics, environment, and life experiences. Psychosocial stress is particularly impactful during adolescence, a critical period for the development of mood disorders.

Resource: A Curated Database of Brain-Related Functional Gene Sets (Brain.GMT).

Transcriptional profiling has become a common tool for investigating the nervous system. During analysis, differential expression results are often compared to functional ontology databases, which contain curated gene sets representing well-studied pathways. This dependence can cause neuroscience studies to be interpreted in terms of functional pathways documented in better studied tissues ( liver) and topics ( cancer), and systematically emphasizes well-studied genes, leaving other findings in the obscurity of the brain "ignorome".

Adolescent environmental enrichment induces social resilience and alters neural gene expression in a selectively bred rodent model with anxious phenotype.

Stress is a major influence on mental health status; the ways that individuals respond to or copes with stressors determine whether they are negatively affected in the future. Stress responses are established by an interplay between genetics, environment, and life experiences. Psychosocial stress is particularly impactful during adolescence, a critical period for the development of mood disorders.

Environmental Enrichment From Birth Impacts Parvalbumin Expressing Cells and Wisteria Floribunda Agglutinin Labelled Peri-Neuronal Nets Within the Developing Murine Striatum.

Environmental enrichment can dramatically affect both the development and function of neural circuits. This is accomplished, at least in part, by the regulation of inhibitory cellular networks and related extracellular matrix glycoprotein structures known as perineuronal nets. The degree to which enhanced housing can influence brain areas involved in the planning and execution of actions is not well known.

Connective Tissue Growth Factor Is a Novel Prodepressant.

Background: While downregulation of several growth factors in major depressive disorder is well established, less attention has been paid to the upregulation of other growth factors. Yet, upregulated growth factors may offer better therapeutic targets. We show that connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) represents a target based on its upregulation in major depressive disorder and studies in animal models implicating it in negative affect.

The use of the puzzle box as a means of assessing the efficacy of environmental enrichment.

Environmental enrichment can dramatically influence the development and function of neural circuits. Further, enrichment has been shown to successfully delay the onset of symptoms in models of Huntington's disease (1-4), suggesting environmental factors can evoke a neuroprotective effect against the progressive, cellular level damage observed in neurodegenerative disorders. The ways in which an animal can be environmentally enriched, however, can vary considerably.