Adolescent environmental enrichment prevents the emergence of schizophrenia-like abnormalities in a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia

Abstract

In the present study, we investigated whether exposure to an enriched environment (EE) during adolescence might affect the behavioural dysfunction (sensorimotor gating deficit, memory and social interaction impairments) and neurochemical changes (GAD67 expression, histone methylation) induced by methylazoxymethanol (MAM) in the MAM-E17 rat model of schizophrenia. EE was introduced for 7 days in early adolescence (days 23-29), and behavioural and biochemical studies were performed on adult rats at postnatal day 70. The results showed that exposure to EE prevented the development of adult behavioural deficits induced by prenatal MAM administration. EE also prevented the decrease in GAD67 mRNA and protein levels induced by MAM in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Moreover, EE inhibited the reductions in the amount of Gad1 bound to H3K4me3 and in the total H3K4me3 protein level induced by prenatal MAM administration in the adult mPFC. However, there was no effect of EE on behaviour or levels of the various neurochemical markers in adult rats prenatally treated with vehicle. Thus, these results indicate that EE exposure during early adolescence may inhibit the development of schizophrenia related symptoms through epigenetic mechanisms that regulate the expression of genes (e.g., Gad1) that are impaired in schizophrenia.

Keywords: Adolescence; Environmental enrichment; Neurodevelopment; Schizophrenia.