Objective To study the effects of enriched rehabilitative training on the expression of microtu-bule associated protein 2 (MAP-2) and synaptophysin (SYN), and to explore its relationship with brain plasticity. Methods Seventy-seven male Wistar rats weighing 160 to 200 g were randomly divided into an ischemia + enriched rehabilitation group (IE, n=36), an ischemia + standard rehabilitation group(IS, n=8), a sham ischemia + en-riched rehabilitation group (SE, n=21) and a sham ischemia + standard rehabilitation group (SS, n=12). Rats in the ischemia groups had their middle cerebral artery sutured for two hours before reperfusion, while those in the sham groups had a similar operation without occlusion. The enriched groups were given enriched rehabilitative train-ing, while the standard groups were left without any training. Behavioral tests, including the acrobatic performance, were administered once daily 2 days after operation, and SP staining of MAP2 and SYN were used to observe the func-tional recovery and brain plasticity changes among the groups at 1,7, 14, 21 and 28 days after the operations. Re-sults Acrobatic performance times reduced gradually. Bederson scores were significantly better in the IE than in the IS group by the 28th day after the operation). There was no significant difference between IE and IS groups in a foot fault test). The expression of MAP-2 and SYN around the infarct and in the hippocampus decreased significantly at first), then recovered gradually. The expression of MAP-2 and SYN in the IE group was significantly higher than that in the IS group at various time points of observation). Conclusion Enriched rehabilitative training can improve functional recovery and the expression of MAP-2 and SYN after brain ischemia, and the functional enhancement may attribute to the brain plasticity.

Animals ; Cell Nucleus ; enzymology ; Drosophila Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Drosophila melanogaster ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Long-Term Potentiation ; physiology ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; physiology ; Memory Consolidation ; physiology ; Neurons ; cytology ; enzymology