Studying Adult-Born Neuron Functions

To examine behavioral functions of adult-born neurons we used GFAP-TK transgenic rats, in which neurogenesis can be selectively inhibited in adulthood via antiviral drug treatment [26 (link)]. Male and female GFAP-TK rats and their wild type littermates were bred in-house on a Long-Evans background, housed with their parents until they were weaned at 21 days of age, and kept on a 12-h light/dark cycle (lights on at 7:00 am). Experimental rats were pair housed in transparent polyurethane bins (48 × 27 × 20 cm) with a single polycarbonate tube, aspen chip bedding and ad libitum rat chow and tap water. The estrous cycle of female subjects was not monitored. To inhibit adult neurogenesis, at 6 weeks of age rats were orally administered 4 mg of valganciclovir (Hoffman La-Roche; delivered in 0.5 g peanut butter+chow pellets) twice per week. All experiments were approved by the Animal Care Committee at the University of British Columbia and conducted in accordance with the Canadian Council on Animal Care.