Figure 1.
The naturalistic habitat (NH) affected mRNA levels of (A): BDNF; (B): synapsin I; (C): CREB; and (D): GAP-43 in the adult somatosensory cortex (SSC). Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to NH for 2, 7 and 28 days, and the effects were compared to a cage control group. NH increased the mRNA levels of all the markers in proportion to the time spent on the NH housing. Values are expressed as mean ± SEM. Independent sample T-test (SPSS 16.0) was carried out between NH and cage con groups (*p<0.05, **p<0.01, n=9/group).