Impact of Environmental Enrichment on Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis in a Preclinical Mouse Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

Alcohol is a potent teratogen to the developing CNS, and moderate-heavy alcohol intake during pregnancy causes fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). These patients display CNS symptoms associated with developmental deficits, cognitive impairment and social abnormalities, with structural impairments in several brain regions. In this dissertation, we investigated the role of FASD in neurogenic functional deficits in the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus. The dentate gyrus is a subregion of the hippocampus that displays unique plasticity, in that new dentate granule neurons are continuously produced throughout life. Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is thought to play key roles in pattern separation and associative learning and in depression-like behaviors. Interestingly, adult neurogenesis is stimulated by physical and social enrichment (enriched environments) and learning. It is becoming increasingly apparent that prenatal alcohol exposure produces long-lasting impairments in postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis and learning impairment.