Decreased cytogenesis in the granule cell layer of the hippocampus and impaired place learning after irradiation of the young mouse brain evaluated using the IntelliCage platform

Radiation therapy is used to treat malignant tumors in the brain and central nervous system involvement of leukemia and lymphomas in children. However, ionizing radiation causes a number of adverse long-term side effects in the brain, including cognitive impairment. Hippocampal neurogenesis is important for place learning and has been shown to be decreased by irradiation (IR) in rats and mice. In the present study, 10-day-old male mice received 6-Gy IR to the brain on postnatal day 10. We used BrdU labeling of the granule cell layer (GCL) of the hippocampus to evaluate cell proliferation and survival. An unbiased, automated platform for monitoring of behavior in a group housing environment (IntelliCage) was used to evaluate place learning 2 months after IR. We show that cranial IR impaired place learning and reduced BrdU labeling by 50% in the GCL. Cranial IR also reduced whole body weight gain 5%. We conclude that this experimental paradigm provides a novel and time-saving model to detect differences in place learning in mice subjected to IR. This method of detecting behavioral differences can be used for further studies of adverse effects of IR on hippocampal neurogenesis and possible new strategies to ameliorate the negative effects of IR on cognition.