HFHS rats displayed decreased hippocampal neurogenesis. The histogram illustrates the mean ± SD of the total number of doublecortin (DCX)-IR neurons in the subgranular layer of the dentate gyrus. There was a significant reduction in the number of DCX-IR cells in HFHS animals compared to control and HF animals. ϕϕϕϕ
p < 0.001 HFHS versus controls; σσσ
p < 0.001, HF versus control; εεε
p < 0.001 HFHS versus HF animals. The bar in white represent the mean for the control group, the bar in orange represent the mean for the HF group, and the bar in red represent the mean for the HFHS group. The circle represents the value for each animal in the control group, the square represents the value for each animal in the HF group, and the inverted triangle represents the value for each animal in the HFHS group. Illustrative photomicrographs of level-matched coronal sections of the dentate gyrus from control (A), HF (B), and HFHS (C) rats immunostained for doublecortin (DCX). Arrows show DCX-immunopositive cells in the dentate gyrus subgranular layer. ML, dentate gyrus molecular layer; GL, granule cell layer; H, dentate hilus; CA3, pyramidal cell layer of CA3 hippocampal field. Scale bar = 100 µm.