Both children and the elderly need to learn, and the environment seriously affects the level of DNA methylation related to aging in the brain

In June 2021, researchers from the Regenerative Treatment Center of the Technical University of Dresden, Germany, published a research paper entitled "Environmental Enrichment and Preservation of the Young DNA Methylation Landscape in the Hippocampus of Old Rats" in the journal Nature Communications

Through single-nucleotide resolution whole-genome DNA methylation sequencing, it is proved that high stimulation environment can also restore a large number of age-related DNA methylation changes in the hippocampus of the brain, indicating that high stimulation environment can keep the hippocampus, the memory control center of the brain, young

Aging is related to the gradual decline of brain function, manifested by cognitive impairment, increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases, and loss of neuroplasticity

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With age, the level of DNA methylation will gradually decrease, so the level of DNA methylation can be used as an epigenetic clock to measure the level of aging and track a person's biological age

So, in the aging process, does life>

To verify this, the research team conducted studies on mice

Then, the genomes of these two groups of mice were tested, and it was found that the mice that grew up in the stimulating environment had a smaller decline in their DNA methylation levels as they grew older

Mice that grew up in a low-stimulus environment had a more pronounced decline in their DNA methylation levels

These changes in DNA methylation levels will not affect genetic information, but will affect whether genes are activated or the level of activation

These test results mean that the rats that grew up in the stimulating environment maintained their youthful state to some extent

The research team further discovered that the stimulus environment affects genes in the hippocampus, the memory control center in the mouse's brain, that are related to new neurons and cell connections

From an epigenetic point of view, the hippocampus of mice living in a stimulating environment maintains a young state

Compared with mice of the same age that grew up in a low-stimulus environment, the brains of mice that grew up in a stimulus environment are more plastic and have greater "neural plasticity

Many other studies have shown that mice living in a high-stimulus environment perform better on memory tests than mice living in a low-stimulus environment

Gerd Kempermann, the corresponding author of the study, said that this outstanding performance may be due to the more stable DNA methylation levels of the mice living in the stimulating environment

Finally, Gerd Kempermann said that although for humans, how life>
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In general, the highly stimulating environment has great potential in preventing and offsetting brain dysfunction in elderly animals, including synaptic plasticity, hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive ability
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Through single-nucleotide resolution whole-genome DNA methylation sequencing, it is proved that high stimulation environment can also restore a large number of age-related DNA methylation changes in the hippocampus of the brain
.

These findings provide a potential mechanism: positive interaction with the environment can support and promote brain function throughout the magical cycle
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