Early polysensorial enrichment: specific experience-induced structural changes in the parieto-occipital cortex of the rat.

Abstract

The present research has been planned to determine the effects of early polysensorial enrichment on the plastic mechanisms that specify the complex organization of the cortical plate. The basal dendritic field, which is the input side of the neuron, developed increased geometrical complexity in enriched pups. Particularly striking was the specific territorial expansion of dendritic fields, induced by the exposition to a polysensorial enriched environment, observed in the lateral aspect of the parieto-occipital cortex. This implies an interplay involving the lateral aspect of the parieto-occipital cortex with afferents from whiskers and peribucal structures (areas for exploring the habitat). It is evident that during the early postnatal period the cerebral cortex develops a highly sophisticated network, which exhibits a high degree of substrate specificity tightly regulated by environmental cues.