Mechanisms
Enriched environments affect the expression of genes in the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus that determine neuronal structure. At the molecular level, this occurs through increased concentrations of the neurotrophins NGF, NT-3, and changes in BDNF. This alters the activation of cholinergic neurons, 5-HT, and beta-adrenolin. Another effect is to increase proteins such as synaptophysin and PSD-95 in synapses. Changes in Wnt signaling have also been found to mimic in adult mice the effects of environmental enrichment upon synapses in the hippocampus. Increase in neurons numbers could be linked to changes in VEGF.
Read more about this topic: Environmental Enrichment (neural)