Investigating the neurobiology of music: brain-derived neurotrophic factor modulation in the hippocampus of young adult mice
- 1 September 2007
- journal article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Behavioural Pharmacology
- Vol. 18 (5-6), 491-496
- https://doi.org/10.1097/fbp.0b013e3282d28f50
Abstract
It has been shown that music might be able to improve mood state in people affected by psychiatric disorders, ameliorate cognitive deficits in people with dementia and increase motor coordination in Parkinson patients. Robust experimental evidence explaining the central effects of music, however, is missing. This study was designed to investigate the effect of music on brain neurotrophin production and behavior in the mouse. We exposed young adult mice to music with a slow rhythm (6 h/day; mild sound pressure levels, between 50 and 60 db) for 21 consecutive days. At the end of the treatment, mice were tested for passive avoidance learning and then killed for analysis of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in selected brain regions. We found that music-exposed mice showed increased BDNF, but not nerve growth factor in the hippocampus. Furthermore, we observed that music exposure significantly enhanced learning performance, as measured by the passive avoidance test. Our results demonstrate that exposure to music can modulate the activity of the hippocampus by influencing BDNF production. Our findings also suggest that music exposure might be of help in several central nervous system pathologies.Keywords
This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- Exposure to music in the perinatal period enhances learning performance and alters BDNF/TrkB signaling in mice as adultsBehavioural Brain Research, 2006
- Long-term enhancement of maze learning in mice via a generalized Mozart effectNeurological Research, 2005
- BDNF in schizophrenia, depression and corresponding animal modelsMolecular Psychiatry, 2005
- Stimulating music increases motor coordination in patients afflicted with Morbus ParkinsonNeuroscience Letters, 2004
- Neurotrophic factors and CNS disorders: findings in rodent models of depression and schizophreniaProgress in brain research, 2004
- Music therapy with Alzheimer's patients and their family caregivers: a pilot project.Journal of Music Therapy, 2003
- The Effects of Different Types of Music on Perceived and Physiological Measures of StressJournal of Music Therapy, 2002
- Brain-derived neurotrophic factor reduces cortical cell death by ischemia after middle cerebral artery occlusion in the ratActa Neuropathologica, 2001
- Chapter 6 Regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA levels in hippocampus by neuronal activityProgress in brain research, 1998
- REGIONAL STUDIES OF CATECHOLAMINES IN THE RAT BRAIN‐IJournal of Neurochemistry, 1966