Separate experiments compared mice that exercised on running wheels with mice exposed to an enriched environment.

WSJ: Why Young Children Don't Notice Coming Cars

One group was raised in an enriched environment filled with brightly colored toys.

WSJ: Why Young Children Don't Notice Coming Cars

Similar changes occurred in mice exposed to an enriched environment at an older age but only after eight weeks, they said.

WSJ: Why Young Children Don't Notice Coming Cars

Most assisted living facilities do just fine in providing an enriched social environment for our elders.

FORBES: Frightening Facts About Aging Parents in Assisted Living

After four weeks, significant changes were recorded in the hippocampus of the enriched-environment mice compared with controls.

WSJ: Why Young Children Don't Notice Coming Cars

That effectively denies students who desperately need help the most the kind of enriched learning environment that cultivates the imagination and stimulates achievement.

CNN: Commentary: Throwing billions at schools won't fix them

Significantly increased hippocampal LTP activity was only recorded in the enriched-environment mice, possibly because exploring novel objects provided both physical exercise and cognitive stimulation, researchers said.

WSJ: Why Young Children Don't Notice Coming Cars