1. Suppressed neurogenesis without cognitive deficits: effects of fast neutron irradiation in mice.
- Author
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Mineyeva OA, Barykina NV, Bezriadnov DV, Latushkin ST, Ryazanov AI, Unezhev VN, Shuvaev SA, Usova SV, and Lazutkin AA
- Subjects
- Animals, Cell Division radiation effects, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Neural Stem Cells radiation effects, Conditioning, Classical radiation effects, Electromagnetic Radiation, Hippocampus radiation effects, Neurogenesis radiation effects
- Abstract
This study assessed the effects of combined low-dose neutron and γ-ray irradiation on hippocampal neurogenesis and hippocampal-dependent memory. Neural progenitor cell division and survival were evaluated in brain sections and whole hippocampal preparations following head irradiation at a dose of 0.34 Gy for neutron radiation and 0.36 Gy for γ-ray radiation. Hippocampal-dependent memory formation was tested in a contextual fear conditioning task following irradiation at doses of 0.4 Gy for neutron radiation and 0.42 Gy for γ-ray radiation. Cell division was suppressed consistently along the entire dorsoventral axis of the hippocampus 24 h after the irradiation, but quiescent stem cells remained unaffected. The control and irradiated mice showed no differences in terms of exploratory behavior or anxiety 6 weeks after the irradiation. The ability to form hippocampus-dependent memory was also unaffected. The data may be indicative of a negligible effect of the low-dose of fast neutron irradiation and the neurogenesis suppression on animal behavior at 6 weeks after irradiation.
- Published
- 2019
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