Figure 3.

Voluntary wheel running prevented the adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE)-induced loss of neuroprogenitor marker expression in the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus. (A) Modified unbiased stereological assessment revealed a 41% (±12%) reduction of Ki-67+IR cells in the adult (P80) hippocampal dentate gyrus of AIE-treated animals, relative to CONs. Running wheel exposure from P24 to P80 blunted the AIE-induced loss of Ki-67+IR cells, relative to the AIE animals. Representative photomicrographs of Ki-67+IR cells in the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus from CON- and AIE-treated animals across exercise conditions. Scale bar = 100 μm (Insert: 10 μm). (B) Modified unbiased stereological assessment revealed a 37% (±8%) reduction of nestin+IR cells in the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus of AIE-treated animals, relative to CONs. Subjects in the AIE treatment group that were exposed to running wheels from P24 to P80 did not evidence the observed loss of nestin+IR cells, relative to the AIE animals. Representative photomicrographs of nestin+IR cells in the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus from CON- and AIE-treated animals across exercise conditions. Scale bar = 50 μm. Dashed lines indicate outline of the granule cell layer of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. ^*p < 0.05, ^**p < 0.01.