Altered Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Amygdalar Neuronal Activity in Adult Mice with Repeated Experience of Aggression.

Repeated experience of winning in a social conflict setting elevates levels of aggression and may lead to violent behavioral patterns. Here, we use a paradigm of repeated aggression and fighting deprivation to examine changes in behavior, neurogenesis, and neuronal activity in mice with positive fighting experience. We show that for males, repeated positive fighting experience induces persistent demonstration of aggression and stereotypic behaviors in daily agonistic interactions, enhances aggressive motivation, and elevates levels of anxiety.

Metabolic profiling of dividing cells in live rodent brain by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1HMRS) and LCModel analysis.

Rationale: Dividing cells can be detected in the live brain by positron emission tomography or optical imaging. Here we apply proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1HMRS) and a widely used spectral fitting algorithm to characterize the effect of increased neurogenesis after electroconvulsive shock in the live rodent brain via spectral signatures representing mobile lipids resonating at ∼1.30 ppm.

Calorie restriction alleviates the age-related decrease in neural progenitor cell division in the aging brain.

Production of new neurons from stem cells is important for cognitive function, and the reduction of neurogenesis in the aging brain may contribute to the accumulation of age-related cognitive deficits. Restriction of calorie intake and prolonged treatment with rapamycin have been shown to extend the lifespan of animals and delay the onset of the age-related decline in tissue and organ function. Using a reporter line in which neural stem and progenitor cells are marked by the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP), we examined the effect of prolonged exposure to calorie restriction (CR) or rapamycin on hippocampal neural stem and progenitor cell proliferation in aging mice.