TY  - JOUR
AU  - Zocher, Sara
AU  - Schilling, Susan
AU  - Grzyb, Anna
AU  - Adusumilli, Vijay S.
AU  - Bogado Lopes, Jadna
AU  - Günther, Sandra
AU  - Overall, Rupert
AU  - Winter, York
AU  - Kempermann, Gerd
TI  - Early-life environmental enrichment generates persistent individualized behavior in mice
JO  - Science advances
VL  - 6
IS  - 35
SN  - 2375-2548
CY  - Washington, DC [u.a.]
PB  - Assoc.
M1  - DZNE-2020-01420
SP  - eabb1478
PY  - 2020
AB  - Individuals differ in their response to environmental stimuli, but the stability of individualized behaviors and their associated changes in brain plasticity are poorly understood. We developed a novel model of enriched environment to longitudinally monitor 40 inbred mice exploring 35 connected cages over periods of 3 to 6 months. We show that behavioral individuality that emerged during the first 3 months of environmental enrichment persisted when mice were withdrawn from the enriched environment for 3 additional months. Behavioral trajectories were associated with stable interindividual differences in adult hippocampal neurogenesis and persistent epigenetic effects on neuronal plasticity genes in the hippocampus. Using genome-wide DNA methylation sequencing, we show that one-third of the DNA methylation changes were maintained after withdrawal from the enriched environment. Our results suggest that, even under conditions that control genetic background and shared environment, early-life experiences result in lasting individualized changes in behavior, brain plasticity, and epigenetics.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C2  - pmc:PMC7449688
C6  - pmid:32923634
DO  - DOI:10.1126/sciadv.abb1478
UR  - https://pub.dzne.de/record/153423
ER  -