之前的研究顯示多元化的環境可誘發鼠腦神經元及血管密度增加。此種環境包含多種感覺刺激。而專一特定的感覺刺激是否能導致這種變化仍不清楚。我們有興趣探討長期聲音刺激與初生幼鼠腦幹聽覺區血管結構及大腦發育時期之相關性。利用初生幼鼠分別給予為期兩周到4周的單音(4 kHz,65 dB SPL)刺激後，進行腦組織切片、組織染色及影像分析。此外，在聲音刺激期間，每天攝影紀錄幼鼠神經反射行為。結果顯示聲音刺激後，腹側耳蝸核在特定音頻區大血管管徑及微血管密度增加，和文獻中腹側耳蝸核細胞對低頻聲音持續放電反應相關。此聲音引起的血管可塑性改變在出生後兩周(耳道打開後約3天)最明顯，到第四周趨於平緩。另一方面，聲音刺激會使初生幼鼠的神經反射行為提早一到兩天。此聲音引起的神經反射成熟是出現在耳道打開前。總合以上結果證明，利用長期聲音此種專一特定的感覺刺激可誘發初生幼鼠腦幹聽覺區血管新生及重塑，以及加速大腦神經反射行為的發育。

Earlier experiments with young animals raised in a complex environment led to increase in both neural and vascular densities in the brain. Whether sensory stimulation alone can cause these changes remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of sound over-stimulation on vascularization at the brainstem auditory structures, and the time course of the sound effect on brain development in the rat pups. The experimental rats reared with their nursing mothers were divided into 3 groups each receiving sound exposure (4 kHz continuous tone, 65 dB SPL, 10 hrs/night) for either 2, 3 or 4 weeks. During the postnatal 3 weeks, water intakes of mother rats and rat pups were recorded on a daily basis together with the appearance of five reflexes (i.e., righting reflex, cliff avoidance, negative geotaxis, vibrissae placing and auditory startle) and developmental landmarks. TV-cinematography recorded the reflex movements for off-line analysis. After sound exposure, animals were then sacrificed and their brainstems processed histologically for image analysis of vascularization. Cochlear nucleus (CN) of the auditory brainstem in exposed rats displayed an increase in vascularization, both in terms of micro- and macro-vessels, particularly to the ventral subdivisions which are known to respond preferentially to steady tone stimuli. And vascular changes were largest on P14 or soon after ear opening. In developmental studies, sound exposure accelerated the emergence of all the reflexes we examined by 1 to 2 days. Findings represented the first evidence that prolonged acoustic stimulation increases vascularization of brainstem auditory structures and accelerates the development of reflexes in young animals even before the time of ear opening.

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