Running increases cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the adult mouse dentate gyrus

Exposure to an enriched environment increases neurogenesis in the dentate g yrus of adult rodents. Environmental enrichment, however, typically consist s of many components, such as expanded learning opportunities, increased so cial interaction, more physical activity and larger housing. We attempted t o separate components by assigning adult mice to various conditions: water- maze learning (learner), swim-time-yoked control (swimmer), voluntary wheel running (runner), and enriched (enriched) and standard housing (control) g roups. Neither maze training nor yoked swimming had any effect on bromodeox yuridine (BrdU)-positive cell number. However, running doubled the number o f surviving newborn cells, in amounts similar to enrichment conditions. Our findings demonstrate that voluntary exercise is sufficient for enhanced ne urogenesis in the adult mouse dentate gyrus.