J Appl Biomed 19:125-132, 2021 | DOI: 10.32725/jab.2021.018

Waleska Maria Almeida Barros1, 2, Matheus Santos de Sousa Fernandes1, Roberta Karlize Pereira Silva2, Karollainy Gomes da Silva2, Ana Patrcia da Silva Souza1, 2, Mariluce Rodrigues Marques Silva1, 2, Ana Beatriz Janurio da Silva1, 2, *, Gabriela Carvalho Jurema Santos3, Maria Eduarda Rodrigues Alves dos Santos2, Taciane Silva do Carmo2, Sandra Lopes de Souza1, Viviane de Oliveira Nogueira Souza4 1 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Programa de Ps-graduaão em Neuropsiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Recife, Brasil 2 Centro Universitrio Facol / Centro Integrado de Tecnologias em Neurociência (CITENC), Vitria de Santo Antão, Brasil 3 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Programa de Ps-Graduaão em Nutrião, Recife, Brasil 4 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Centro Acadêmico Vitria, Ncleo de Nutrião, Vitria de Santo Antão, Brasil

Environmental factors interfere in the neural plasticity processes. Among these, malnutrition in the early stages of life stands out as one of the main non-genetic factors that can interfere in the morphofunctional development of the nervous system. Furthermore, sensory stimulation from enriched environments (EE) also interferes with neural development. These two factors can modify areas related to memory and learning as the hippocampus, through mechanisms related to the gene expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The BDNF may interfere in synaptic plasticity processes, such as memory. In addition, these changes in early life may affect the functioning of the hippocampus during adulthood through mechanisms mediated by BDNF. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a literature review on the effects of early malnutrition on memory and the relationship between the underlying mechanisms of EE, BDNF gene expression, and memory. In addition, there are studies that demonstrate the effect of EE reversal on exposure to changes in the functioning of hippocampal malnutrition in adult rats that were prematurely malnourished. Thereby, evidence from the scientific literature suggests that the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus of adult animals are influenced by malnutrition and EE, and these alterations may involve the participation of BDNF as a key regulator in memory processes in the adult animal hippocampus.

Keywords: BDNF; Enriched environment; Hippocampal formation; Malnutrition; Memory, Neural plasticity Conflicts of interest:

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interests.

Almeida Barros WM, de Sousa Fernandes MS, Silva RKP, da Silva KG, da Silva Souza AP, Rodrigues Marques Silva M, et al.. Does the enriched environment alter memory capacity in malnourished rats by modulating BDNF expression? J Appl Biomed. 2021;19(3):125-132. doi:10.32725/jab.2021.018.

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