Cannabinoid receptor CB1 mediates baseline and activity-induced survival of new neurons in adult hippocampal neurogenesis.

Background: Adult neurogenesis is a particular example of brain plasticity that is partially modulated by the endocannabinoid system. Whereas the impact of synthetic cannabinoids on the neuronal progenitor cells has been described, there has been lack of information about the action of plant-derived extracts on neurogenesis. Therefore we here focused on the effects of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) fed to female C57Bl/6 and Nestin-GFP-reporter mice on proliferation and maturation of neuronal progenitor cells and spatial learning performance.

Arc/Arg3.1 is essential for the consolidation of synaptic plasticity and memories.

Arc/Arg3.1 is robustly induced by plasticity-producing stimulation and specifically targeted to stimulated synaptic areas. To investigate the role of Arc/Arg3.

Running in pregnancy transiently increases postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis in the offspring.

Voluntary wheel running of mice in pregnancy and lactation led to a twofold increase in hippocampal precursor-cell proliferation and in the number of Prox1-expressing lineage-determined cells at postnatal day 8 (P8). At P36, the number of newly generated granule cells approximately doubled, resulting in a 40% higher total number of granule cells in pups from running dams as compared with controls. Cell proliferation at embryonic day 15 (E15), in contrast, was decreased in the progeny of exercising mice, and the birth weight was reduced.

Physical exercise prevents age-related decline in precursor cell activity in the mouse dentate gyrus.

Physical activity induces adult hippocampal neurogenesis. We here show that the acute up-regulating effect of voluntary wheel running on precursor cell proliferation decreases with continued exercise, but that continued exercise reduces the age-dependent decline in adult neurogenesis. Cell proliferation peaked at 3 days of running.

Age-dependent expression of glucocorticoid- and mineralocorticoid receptors on neural precursor cell populations in the adult murine hippocampus.

Steroid hormones are regulators of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and are central to hypotheses regarding adult neurogenesis in age-related and psychiatric disturbances associated with altered hippocampal plasticity--most notably dementias and major depression. Using immunohistochemistry, we examined the expression of glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR) receptors during adult hippocampal neurogenesis. In young mice only 27% of dividing cells in the subgranular zone expressed GR, whereas 4 weeks after division 87% had become positive for GR and MR.

Transient calretinin expression defines early postmitotic step of neuronal differentiation in adult hippocampal neurogenesis of mice.

We here show that the early postmitotic stage of granule cell development during adult hippocampal neurogenesis is characterized by the transient expression of calretinin (CR). CR expression was detected as early as 1 day after labeling dividing cells with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), but not before. Staining for Ki-67 confirmed that no CR-expressing cells were in cell cycle.