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. 2009 Aug 26;4(8):e6780. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006780

Figure 4. Enrichment accelerates the striatal maturation as determined by the pattern of CSPG staining at P10.

Figure 4

(A–C) A rostral (rost.) to caudal (caud.) series showing the pattern of CSPG staining in the striatum at P10 in non-enriched mice. CSPG staining in the striatum is most prominent in diffuse clouds (some highlighted by arrows) which we have previously shown to be associated with striosomes [36]. PNNs, characterised by more punctuate staining, can also be seen in the matrix (arrowheads) but these are present at very low density. Only one or two can be seen in sections from rostral striatum (A), though they become slightly more numerous in mid (B) and caudal (C) sections. (D–F) A similar series to that shown in A–C but for enriched mice. Here, the CSPG-associated clouds (arrows) are much less apparent. PNNs are, however, markedly more numerous and more prominent across all rostrocaudal levels compared to non-enriched mice. The inset in 4D shows the appearance of the PNNs at higher power. Note the characteristic lattice-like network of CSPGs encircling the soma and proximal dendrites. Scalebars: 500 µm in A–F, 20 µm for the Inset in D. (G–H) Graphs plotting increases in PNN (G) and decreases in CSPG cloud (H) densities in enriched mice at P10. Differences are significant (see text for details). Nine sections from 3 animals were quantified for each group. *: p<0.05, **: p<0.001.