ArticleAging2019
Long-term environmental enrichment affects microglial morphology in middle age mice.
Article in Aging, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Differential effects of environmental enrichment and physical exercise on glial biology in aging and aging-related conditions: a systematic review.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Cytokines and Immune Cells Profile in Different Tissues of Rodents Induced by Environmental Enrichment: Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Microglia: Mediators of experience-driven corrective neuroplasticity.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Environmental enrichment: a neurostimulatory approach to aging and ischemic stroke recovery and rehabilitation.Biogerontology · 2025Review
- Environmental Enrichment Exposure Alleviates Geriatric Depressive-Like Symptoms through Regulating Neurogenesis and Neuroinflammation.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2025Article
- Age-associated microglial transcriptome leads to diminished immunogenicity and dysregulation of MCT4 and P2RY12/P2RY13 related functions.Cell death discovery · 2025Article
- Effects of environmental enrichment and caloric restriction on hippocampal changes in early adult rats.Journal of Korean biological nursing science · 2024Article
- A bibliometric analysis of studies on environmental enrichment spanning 1967-2024: patterns and trends over the years.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2024Article
- Environmental Enrichment Improves Motor Function and Muscle Transcriptome of Aged Mice.Advanced biology · 2024Article
- Inflammation subsequent to mild iron excess differentially alters regional brain iron metabolism, oxidation and neuroinflammation status in mice.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2024Article
- Neurodevelopmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders.Advances in neurobiology · 2024Review
- Microglial morphometric analysis: so many options, so little consistency.Frontiers in neuroinformatics · 2023Review
- Article
- Environmental Enrichment Mitigates Age-Related Metabolic Decline and Lewis Lung Carcinoma Growth in Aged Female Mice.Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2021Article
- Lifestyle-dependent microglial plasticity: training the brain guardians.Biology direct · 2021Review
- Changing Functional Signatures of Microglia along the Axis of Brain Aging.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Enriched Environment Prevents Surgery-Induced Persistent Neural Inhibition and Cognitive Dysfunction.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2021Article
- Microglia Function on Precursor Cells in the Adult Hippocampus and Their Responsiveness to Serotonin Signaling.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Review
- Microglial Morphology Across Distantly Related Species: Phylogenetic, Environmental and Age Influences on Microglia Reactivity and Surveillance States.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Aging is associated with increased central nervous system inflammation, in large part due to dysfunctional microglia. Environmental enrichment (EE) provides a model for studying the dynamics of lifestyle factors in the development of age-related neuroinflammation and microglial dysfunction. EE results in improvements in learning and memory, metabolism, and mental health in a variety of animal models. We recently reported that implementing EE in middle age promotes healthy aging. In the present study, we investigated whether EE influences microglial morphology, and whether EE is associated with changes in expression of microglial and neuroinflammatory markers. Inflammatory cytokines and MHC-II were reduced following 12-month EE in 10-month-old mice. Long-term EE for 7.5 months resulted in broad increases in Iba1 expression in hippocampus, hypothalamus, and amygdala detected by immunohistochemistry. Quantification of microglial morphology reveal both hypertrophy and ramification in these three brain regions, without increases in microglial cell density. These data indicate that long-term EE implemented in middle age results in a microglial state distinct from that of normal aging in standard laboratory housing, in specific brain regions, associated with reduced neuroinflammatory markers and improvement of systemic metabolism.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.