Relationships Between Home Range Size, Hippocampal Cell Proliferation, and Testosterone in Wild Male Meadow Voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), Poster 20

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is negatively impacted by neurodegenerative disorders, most notably Alzheimer’s disease. Many studies have been conducted assessing how neurogenesis can be manipulated to prevent hippocampal... [ view full abstract ]

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is negatively impacted by neurodegenerative disorders, most notably Alzheimer’s disease. Many studies have been conducted assessing how neurogenesis can be manipulated to prevent hippocampal cell deterioration and increase or maintain neurogenesis. Other work has been done assessing neurogenic relationships with respect to androgens, behavior, climate, and sex, but these studies have primarily been conducted on captive rodent models. In this study, we used wild-caught male meadow voles to assess the relationships between testosterone, home range, and neurogenesis. Based on previous work, we expected a positive correlation between neurogenesis and home range size during the summer mating season. Using radio-telemetry to estimate home range size (n=18 voles) and pHisH3 immunohistochemistry, we found a significant positive relationship between home range size and cell proliferation. Previous studies assessing the relationship between testosterone and neurogenesis were inconclusive; we found no significant trends or relationships between testosterone and neurogenesis. The relationship between home range and cell proliferation suggest that individuals with larger travel areas face increased spatial memory demands, thereby increasing cell proliferation and potentially neurogenesis.