| First Author | Zheng J | Year | 2017 |
| Journal | J Neurosci | Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 15 | Pages | 4145-4157 |
| PubMed ID | 28292830 | Mgi Jnum | J:255243 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6109104 | Doi | 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3333-16.2017 |
| Citation | Zheng J, et al. (2017) Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis along the Dorsoventral Axis Contributes Differentially to Environmental Enrichment Combined with Voluntary Exercise in Alleviating Chronic Inflammatory Pain in Mice. J Neurosci 37(15):4145-4157 |
| abstractText | Cognitive behavioral therapy, such as environmental enrichment combined with voluntary exercise (EE-VEx), is under active investigation as an adjunct to pharmaceutical treatment for chronic pain. However, the effectiveness and underlying mechanisms of EE-VEx remain unclear. In mice with intraplantar injection of complete Freund''s adjuvant, our results revealed that EE-VEx alleviated perceptual, affective, and cognitive dimensions of chronic inflammatory pain. These effects of EE-VEx on chronic pain were contingent on the occurrence of adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus in a functionally dissociated manner along the dorsoventral axis: neurogenesis in the ventral dentate gyrus participated in alleviating perceptual and affective components of chronic pain by EE-VEx, whereas neurogenesis in the dorsal dentate gyrus was involved in EE-VEx''s cognitive-enhancing effects. Chronic inflammatory pain was accompanied by decreased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the dentate gyrus, which were reversed by EE-VEx. Overexpression of BDNF in the dentate gyrus mimicked the effects of EE-VEx. Our results demonstrate distinct contribution of adult hippocampal neurogenesis along the dorsoventral axis to EE-VEx''s beneficial effects on different dimensions of chronic pain.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Environmental enrichment combined with voluntary exercise (EE-VEx) is under active investigation as an adjunct to pharmaceutical treatment for chronic pain, but its effectiveness and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In a mouse model of inflammatory pain, the present study demonstrates that the beneficial effects of EE-VEx on chronic pain depend on adult neurogenesis with a dorsoventral dissociation along the hippocampal axis. Adult neurogenesis in the ventral dentate gyrus participates in alleviating perceptual and affective components of chronic pain by EE-VEx, whereas that in the dorsal pole is involved in EE-VEx''s cognitive-enhancing effects in chronic pain. |
