Neuroscience

Evolutionary biology

Biology

Hippocampal formation

Function (biology)

Psychology

Set (abstract data type)

Programming language

Brain function

Computer science

Neurogenesis

Neuroplasticity

Environmental enrichment

Nature reviews. Neuroscience

‘Enriched environments’ are a key experimental paradigm to decipher how interactions between genes and environment change the structure and function of the brain across the lifespan of an animal. The regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis by environmental enrichment is a prime example of this complex interaction. As each animal in an enriched environment will have a slightly different set of experiences that results in downstream differences between individuals, enrichment can be considered not only as an external source of rich stimuli but also to provide the room for individual behaviour that shapes individual patterns of brain plasticity and thus function. Environmental enrichment is a classical experimental paradigm for the study of the interaction between genes and the environment. In this Opinion, Kempermann discusses how this paradigm can be further developed in order to capture the essence of interindividual differences in brain function.

Environmental enrichment, new neurons and the neurobiology of individuality