對年幼小鼠的新的研究表明，社會性隔離,，即一個被剝奪的環(huán)境，會影響大腦絕緣細胞的發(fā)育,。Manabu Makinodan及其同事說,，事實上，看來有一個獨特的時期,，在該時期中社會經驗可促成這些細胞的適當的成熟,。這些發(fā)現為一個不斷增加的人類研究增添了內容，這些研究顯示,，孩提時期的疏忽可導致成年時不正常的認知和社會行為——它們還可能揭示這些虧損是否能夠被逆轉,。在這個例子中,，研究人員顯示，那些在斷奶后立刻被隔離2周的小鼠會有未充分發(fā)育的少突膠質細胞——這些少突膠質細胞形成了帶有腦神經元之間信號的神經分支延伸支的髓鞘并對其進行保護,。與那些在有玩伴及循環(huán)供應玩具情況下飼養(yǎng)的小鼠相比,，這些被隔離的小鼠所經歷的腦功能變化不能被后來將這些小鼠放置在一個更具刺激性和社會性的環(huán)境中而得到逆轉。文章的作者說,，在一個早期大腦生長的時期中,，隔離會減少某種與少突膠質細胞發(fā)育有關的關鍵性信號傳導分子的表達。（生物谷Bioon.com）
doi: 10.1126/science.1220845
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A Critical Period for Social Experience–Dependent Oligodendrocyte Maturation and Myelination
Manabu Makinodan, Kenneth M. Rosen, Susumu Ito, Gabriel Corfas
Early social isolation results in adult behavioral and cognitive dysfunction that correlates with white matter alterations. However, how social deprivation influences myelination and the significance of these myelin defects in the adult remained undefined. We show that mice isolated for 2 weeks immediately after weaning have alterations in prefrontal cortex function and myelination that do not recover with reintroduction into a social environment. These alterations, which occur only during this critical period, are phenocopied by loss of oligodendrocyte ErbB3 receptors, and social isolation leads to reduced expression of the ErbB3 ligand neuregulin-1. These findings indicate that social experience regulates prefrontal cortex myelination through neuregulin-1/ErbB3 signaling and that this is essential for normal cognitive function, thus providing a cellular and molecular context to understand the consequences of social isolation.
