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This thesis has attempted to assess the importance of various socioeconomic and other factors in mortality at the population level in three different settings: in Europe at the country level, and in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands at the regional level. Each analysis was conducted from a different perspective. The first established causes for the differences and changes in mortality over time that could assist in current European mortality projections. The second was set in a formersocialist country and covered the period from just before the transition to several years after, and provided insights into changing regional mortality differences. The focus of the third analysis was in uncovering reasons for the recent decline in sex differences in mortality. One conclusion that can be drawn from the various types of analysis employed in this thesis is that mortality studies need to consider many different contexts and potential trends. This is even more important in making projections, given the number of assumptions involved. Since all the studies were ecological in nature, it is impossible to control for factors in the way that this is done in studies where personal information is linked to outcome. The methodology and assumptions therefore need a sound justification, the discussion in Chapter 4 with regard to the time lags introduced for the exogenous variables being an example of this. Mortality studies have become interdisciplinary. Mortality, here, was studied by cause of death, because this provides, by definition, an initial explanation for observed differences and changes. However, in looking for additional answers, for example by incorporating direct and indirect determinants of death and disease, one needs to have some understanding of the disease mechanisms. This is because most such factors do not affect mortality immediately, but only after a certain period of time and, further, this time lag may be different for alternative causes of death or even for the same cause of death depending on the level of exposure. For example, large quantities of alcohol consumption may instigate a heart attack (IHD) or a stroke (CRB) within 24 hours, whereas moderate consumption of alcohol is thought to reduce the process of atherosclerosis, and thus protect against IHD. It is therefore important that short and/or long term effects are estimated. In the case when the effect of alcohol consumption is studied at the aggregate level using aggregated data and information on consumption patterns, the effect of the exposure on the outcome should be estimated for a range of theoretically plausible time lags, from which the one with the largest effect should be used in the analysis. In the case of alcohol and IHD, both a short- and long-term lag could be incorporated in the model equation. Throughout the thesis, reference has been made to the life course approach because current mortality differences are the result of many years of differential exposure to both health-damaging and health-promoting factors. The direct factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, are often embedded in socioeconomic factors and, as a consequence, political, social and economic changes will invariably impact on future levels of mortality. We have seen the immediate impact on health of the transition in Eastern Europe, but the full effects of 40-50 years of socialism may not disappear for decades to come. One reason is the impact of psychosocial risk factors, rather than the standard risk factors such as smoking, that appear to be of major importance in explaining East- West differences in IHD mortality (Kristenson et al., 1998). It is therefore unlikely, even if all other things were equal, that health patterns in Eastern Europe would quickly catch up the West, even if they were to enter the fourth stage of the epidemiological transition, which is not impossible in the near future given that declines in IHD are already being observed in several central European countries. Previous trends in the "leading" countries may therefore be useful to projection makers in adopting realistic assumptions. This equally applies to trends in other phenomena that appear to follow a set of phases, such as the smoking epidemic. One trend that does not seem to receive sufficient attention in existing mortality projections is the changes in societal norms and values, in particular with regard to their effect on female mortality. Already among most of the younger cohorts in Europe, smoking and moderate to heavy alcohol consumption are no longer an exclusively male habit, and labour force participation rates are also converging. This suggests that future sex differences in life expectancy, within a stable socioeconomic climate, will not be the seven or eight years it once was in most European countries, in particular because the full effect of smoking on mortality has yet to be seen. I would therefore expect future increases in the life expectancy of women to stagnate, particularly in southern Europe because of an even larger delay in the smoking epidemic. Turning to Eastern Europe, the future trends are more difficult to predict because many gains in life expectancy can still be made with regard to non-smoking-related deaths from circulatory system diseases, whose mortality levels are still much higher than in the West.

The relationship between Belgian 1988 municipal elections & socioeconomic characteristics of municipalities is analyzed using official election results. Findings show that: higher income has a negative effect on election results for Christian Democrats & Socialists, but a positive one for Liberals; a high number of residents dependent on welfare programs favor the Socialists, while university-educated voters favor the Greens; youth favor the Christian Democrats & the Greens, while urbanites favor the Socialists, Greens, & extremist right-wing Flemish party; the presence of North African immigrants positively corresponds with the Socialists & extreme right-wing party & negatively with the Greens; & participation by the extreme rightists leads to a decline in votes for the Socialists. 6 Tables. Adapted from the source document.

The development experience in the world over the last century has shown that economic growth cannot be sustained without taking into consideration the social and political development of vulnerable populations, including greater recognition of minority rights. Within this context, the objective of this book is initially to support the interdisciplinary discussion that aims to join studies that surrounding the development of minorities in the Asia. - Azië is economisch gezien een van de snelst groeiende regio's in de wereld. Dit geldt vooral voor Oost- en Zuidoost- Aziatische landen als China en Vietnam. Toch zijn er tegelijkertijd grote regionale verschillen in welvaart. Huhua Cao stelt dat gelijkberechtiging van de etnische minderheden een voorwaarde is voor de verdere economische bloei van deze regio's. De emancipatie van die minderheden is een enorme uitdaging waar veel Aziatische samenlevingen op dit moment voor staan. Huhua Cao wil met zijn boek een interdisciplinaire discussie op gang brengen over die emancipatie. De gevarieerde hoofdstukken in deze bundel dragen daar het nodige aan bij.

Sections include: 'New Approaches to Regional Development and Spatial Planning', 'Regional Developing and Spatial Planning in the Celtic Periphery' and 'Key Challenges for the Future'.

China's stunning record of economic development since the 1970s has been marred by an increasingly obvious gap between the country's 'haves' and its 'have-nots'. While people living in some parts of the country have enjoyed dramatically improved conditions of life, those in other districts and regions have slipped ever further behind in terms of access to health, wealth, education, security and opportunity. Paying for Progress in China is a collection of essays which trace the causes of this growing inequality, using new data including surveys, interviews, newly available of.

This book makes an essential contribution to understanding the dynamics of contemporary immigrant inflows and integration in Europe. Though embracing a Continent-wide outlook on migration processes, it accounts, in particular, for Southern and Eastern European perspectives. This is accomplished by analysing the long-term transition countries undergo from net emigration to net immigration, as well as developments in their migrant inflows, integration and policy. Balance is achieved between describing the common European experience and the intra- and inter-regional differences characterising migration's underlying factors and trends. This volume is one of few attempts to conceive of the 'Old Continent' as a common economic and cultural space that fully incorporates its eastern part, while still viewing post-enlargement Europe as an area that – despite nation-specific histories – maintains a high degree of social and political coherence.

The book is very comprehensive, with deep insights into aspects of immigration throughout different periods and changing socio-economic environments. Contents come from new empirical evidence, specially designed and collected. A great asset is the mix of authors, representing several academic centres across Europe yet pursuing a common vision of European migration, past, present and future. - Dit boek analyseert de instroom en integratie van immigranten in Europa, waarbij alle aspecten van de immigratie gedurende uiteenlopende perioden en in veranderende sociaaleconomische omstandigheden aan bod komen. Daarbij wordt Europa beschouwd als één economische en culturele entiteit, met een grote mate van onderlinge sociale en politieke samenhang. De auteur heeft echter ook oog voor de regionale verschillen die bepalend zijn voor de onderliggende factoren en trends.

Het: artikel vergelijkt het nuptialiteits- en vruchtbaarheidsprofiel van de islamitische minderheden in België met deze in de herkomstlanden. Het behandelt vervolgens socio-economische verschillen bij deze minderheden in België zelf. De data hiervoor zijn afkomstig uit de volkstelling van 1.3.81 en slaan dus nog in hoofdzaak op de eerste generatie. Het blijkt dat de Maghreb-groep in België vrijwel analoge verschillen en trends kennen als deze waargenomen in Tunesië, Algerije en Marokko: toenemende huwelijksleeftijden voor vrouwen en dalende vruchtbaarheid. De Turkse minderheid daarentegen heeft een veel jonger leeftijdsprofiel qua nuptialiteit dan deze waargenomen in Turkije. Sterke regionale selectiviteit qua recrutering van bruiden en herkomst van de Turkse vrouwelijke Immigranten Is hieraan wellicht niet vreemd. De socio-economische achtergrondkenmerken zoals opleidingspeil, leeftijd bij immigratie en al dan niet bezit van een Belgisch diploma zijn geassocieerd met opvallende verschillen inzake huwelijksleeftijd. Tewerkstelling buitenshuis daarentegen is doorslaggevend voor lagere vruchtbaarheid terwijl de onderwijsveranderlijken in 1981 slechts een gering netto-effect vertoonden. Aanvullende data voor de "tweede generatie" komen ter beschikking in de volkstelling van 1991 en de nieuwe demografische surveys gehouden bij de Islamitische minderheden in België.

The Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is an iconic fish species with a widespread historic abundance, but recent decades have witnessed a dramatic decline in wild stocks due to a variety of anthropogenic factors, especially overfishing and loss of habitat. To mitigate the impacts of these anthropogenic effects, millions of hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon are released yearly into rivers through stocking programs, which aim to augment the productivity of wild populations. However, these stocked fish are reared under uniform and stimulus-poor hatchery conditions and consequently, they are behaviourally naïve at time of release. For example, hatchery-reared salmonids often show impaired foraging and antipredator behaviour compared to wild conspecifics, which contributes to the observed high post-release mortality rates in stocked fish. Although the effects of the hatchery environment on fish behaviour are relatively well described, the brain, which is the key organ that translates environmental stimuli into appropriate behavioural responses, remains gravely understudied. The few studies which have investigated the impact of the hatchery environment on the fish central nervous system have mostly mapped the expression of neuroplasticity and neurogenesis genes in the entire brain, or large brain structures, such as the whole telencephalon. However, the brain is a complex organ, composed of a plethora of neural subpopulations, each with distinct functionalities and characteristics. When quantifying whole-brain levels of neuroplasticity markers, one studies a conglomerate of many different neural subregions, and regional differences can therefore not be detected. The aim of this thesis is to gain a better insight into the neural differences between wild and hatchery-reared fish, specifically within neural subpopulations of the telencephalon, and how innovative hatchery protocols can improve the neurobiology, behaviour and post-release survival of hatchery-reared salmon. First, we made a detailed characterisation of the neurobiology of juvenile wild and hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon parr. This was achieved by quantifying the expression of the neuroplasticity marker brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf) and the neural activity marker cfos in five neural populations within the telencephalon of wild and hatchery-reared juvenile salmon under both basal and acute-stress conditions (Paper I). We found that expression of bdnf and cfos varied greatly between the studied telencephalic subregions, confirming that these subregions have a distinct responsiveness to environmental stimuli. Compared to wild fish, hatchery-reared fish of the same genetic origin showed higher post-stress neural activation in the ventral area of the dorsolateral pallium (Dlv), which is an important brain region associated with relational memory and spatial orientation. Furthermore, wild fish displayed stress-induced upregulation of bdnf in the dorsomedial pallium (Dm), which regulates emotional learning and stress reactivity, while this was not the case for hatchery-reared individuals. This study showed that targeting telencephalic subregions can reveal expression patterns that escape detection when studying the entire telencephalon as a whole. Moreover, we demonstrated that the hatchery environment affects neuroplasticity and neural activation in brain regions which are important for learning processes and stress reactivity, providing a neuronal foundation for the behavioural differences observed between wild and hatchery-reared fish. After we had characterised neural differences in telencephalic subregions between wild and hatchery-reared salmon, we assessed whether structural environmental enrichment (EE) of the rearing environment could increase region-specific neural plasticity and stocking success in hatchery-reared salmon (Paper II). After seven weeks of treatment, EE-reared parr showed higher post-release freshwater survival rates compared to control individuals, which were reared in standard uniform hatchery tanks. This improved stocking performance did not, however, appear to be linked to significant changes in the expression of telencephalic plasticity markers. Although structural EE has shown some, albeit inconsistent, beneficial effects on fish stocking success across studies, hatchery managers are reluctant to implement this measure in their hatcheries because of hygienic and operational limitations. Therefore, it is important to develop alternative rearing methods which can enhance fish neural development and are more practical to implement in the hatchery. One of these alternative rearing methods is swimming exercise, which has previously been linked to increased post-release survival in salmonids. As running exercise is associated with increased neural plasticity in mammals, we investigated in Paper III whether swimming exercise could serve as an alternative rearing strategy to promote Atlantic salmon neural plasticity and cognition. After eight weeks of sustained swimming, we found increased expression of neuroplasticity-related transcripts in the telencephalon transcriptome of exercised salmon. However, we did not find any evidence for increased cognition in exercised fish, in terms of their ability to solve a spatial orientation task in a maze test. While previous studies have reported positive physiological effects of swimming exercise, such as improved growth efficiency and stress reduction, this is the first time that exercise-enhanced neural plasticity has been reported in salmonids, building a case for exploring further the potential of implementing swimming exercise to improve the stocking success of reared salmonids. In summary, the results presented in this thesis advance the field of applied fish neurobiology in a stocking context by characterising telencephalic neural plasticity markers in Atlantic salmon on a more detailed level than previously studied. We demonstrate that EE can improve juvenile salmon survival during freshwater residency, but that the effects of EE on neural plasticity are limited in the studied telencephalic regions. We identify swimming exercise as a promising novel tool to improve neural plasticity in salmon, and we remark that exercise has additional physiological benefits and is relatively easy to implement in hatcheries. We therefore suggest that future work should aim at validating the potential use of exercise in the optimisation of hatchery conditions for stocking programs, and that further research is needed to increase our understanding on the link between the rearing environment, the brain and behaviour. ; Laks (Salmo salar) er en ikonisk fiskeart som historisk sett har funnes i overflod, men som de siste tiår har opplevd en dramatisk nedgang i villpopulasjonen. Denne nedgangen skyldes hovedsakelig antropogene faktorer som overfisking og habitatinnskrenkning. Som en motkraft til den minkende populasjon blir det gjennom kultiveringsprogrammer satt ut millioner av fisk fra klekkerier og ut i elvene årlig. Disse fiskene er imidlertid vokst opp under uniforme og stimuluslave omgivelser, noe som gjør dem atferdsmessig naive i møte med elven. For eksempel viser utsatt laks nedsatt forings- og antipredatorevne sammenlignet med villaks, noe som bidrar til høyere dødelighet hos denne gruppen. Selv om klekkerimiljøets effekter på atferd er relativt godt beskrevet, så er hjernen, selve hovedorganet som omsetter omgivelsenes stimuli til en passende atferd, fremdeles underbeskrevet. De få studiene som har undersøkt påvirkningen fra klekkerimiljøet på fiskens sentrale nervesystem har stort sett kartlagt uttrykket av gener involvert i nevroplastisitet og nevrogenese i enten hele hjernen eller større hjernestrukturer, som telencephalon. Hjernen er imidlertid et komplekst organ, sammensatt av et utall nevrale subpopulasjoner, hver med distinkte funksjonaliteter og karakteristikker som driver ulike atferder. Når man kvantifiserer markører for nevroplastisitet på helhjerne-nivå, så studerer man et konglomerat av ulike nevrale regioner på samme tid og kan dermed ikke detektere eventuelle regionale forskjeller. Hensikten bak denne avhandlingen var dels å bedre forståelsen av potensielle nevrale forskjeller mellom klekkeri- og villfisk, og dels å undersøke om innovative klekkeriprotokoller kan forbedre nevrobiologien, atferden og overlevelsen til kultivert laks etter elveutsettelsen. Arbeidet startet med en detaljert karakterisering av nevrobiologien til kultivert og vill parr (juvenil laks). Dette ble oppnådd ved å kvantifisere genuttrykket av en nevroplastisitetsmarkør, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf), og en nevral aktivitetsmarkør, cfos, i fem ulike nevrale populasjoner innad i telencephalon til parr av klekkeri- og villaks under både basale- og akutte stress-tilstander (Artikkel I). Her fant vi at genuttrykket av bdnf og cfos varier sterkt mellom de ulike delene av telencephalon, noe som bekrefter at disse delene har distinkte responser til omgivelsene. Sammenlignet med villfisk har klekkerifisk, med det samme genetiske opphav som villfisken, høyere nevral aktivering etter stress i den ventrale delen av det dorsolaterale pallium (Dlv), et viktig område av hjernen assosiert med deklarativ hukommelse og romlig orientering. Videre hadde villfisken en stressindusert oppregulering av bdnf i det dorsomediale pallium (Dm), et område som regulerer emosjonell læring og stressreaktivitet, mens dette ikke var tilfelle for klekkerifisken. Dette studiet illustrerte at å undersøke delregioner av telencephalon kan avsløre mønstre som blir maskert ved å undersøke telencephalon som en enhet. I tillegg ble det vist at klekkerimiljøet påvirker nevroplastisiteten og den nevrale aktiviteten i hjerneområder viktige for læreprosesser og stressreaktivitet, noe som gir et nevralt fundament for de atferdsmessige forskjeller som blir observert mellom vill og kultivert fisk. Etter karakteriseringen av de nevrale forskjellene i telencephalons delregioner mellom vill og kultivert laks, undersøkte vi videre om strukturell berikelse av oppvekstmiljøet (EE) kunne bedre den regionspesifikke nevrale plastisiteten og kultiveringssuksessen av klekkerilaksen (Artikkel II). Etter syv ukers behandling viste EE-oppfostret parr høyere overlevelse etter utsetting i ferskvann enn kontrollindivider oppfostret i standard uniforme klekkeritanker. Den forbedrede kultiveringen ble imidlertid ikke gjenspeilet i signifikante endringer i telencephalons genuttrykk av plastisitetsmarkører. Selv om strukturell EE har demonstrert å gi noen, dog inkonsekvente, fordelaktige effekter på kultivering i flere studier, er klekkeriledere motvillige til å implementere dette grunnet de hygieniske og operasjonelle begrensinger de kan føre med seg. Det er derfor viktig å utvikle alternative oppfostringsmetoder som kan bedre fiskens nevrale utvikling og samtidig være mer praktisk å innføre i produksjonen. Ett slikt alternativ er svømmetrening, noe som tidligere har blitt knyttet til økt overlevelse hos laksefisk etter utsetting. Ettersom løping er assosiert med økt nevroplastisitet i pattedyr, undersøkte vi i Artikkel III om svømming kunne virke som en alternativ strategi for å bedre laksens nevroplastisitet og kognisjon. Etter åtte uker med vedvarende svømming fant vi økt uttrykk av nevroplastisitet-relaterte gentranskripter i telencephalons transkriptom hos de trente laksene. Vi testet deres evne til romlig orientering i en labyrinttest, men fant ingen bevis for økt kognisjon hos den trente fisken. Til tross for at tidligere studier har rapportert positive fysiologiske effekter av svømmetrening, slik som økt vekst eller stressreduksjon, så er dette første gang at trenings-stimulert nevroplastisitet har blitt rapportert i laksefisk, noe som indikerer at svømmetrening bør utforskes som en potensiell måte å øke utsettingssuksessen av klekkerilaks. Oppsummert bidrar resultatene i denne avhandlingen til en avansering av den anvendte fiskenevrobiologien i kultiveringssammenheng gjennom å karakterisere telencephalons nevroplastisitetsmarkører i laks på et mer detaljert nivå enn tidligere beskrevet. Vi viser at EE kan forbedre overlevelsen til parr i ferskvann, men at effektene av EE på nevroplastisitet er avmålte i de områder av telencephalon som ble studert her. Videre demonstrerer vi svømmetrening som et lovende nytt verktøy for forbedring av nevroplastisiteten i laks, samtidig som vi understreker at trening har ytterligere fysiologiske fortrinn og er relativt lett å få implementert i klekkeriene. Vi foreslår derfor at fremtidige arbeid har som mål å validere den potensielle nytten av trening i optimaliseringen av klekkeribetingelsene for kultivering og at fremtidige undersøkelser søker å forstå sammenhengen mellom oppvekstmiljøet, hjernen og atferd. ; De Atlantische zalm (Salmo salar) is een iconische vissoort die oorspronkelijk in overvloed voorkwam, maar door menselijk handelen zijn de wereldwijde aantallen in de afgelopen decennia sterk gedaald, met name door overbevissing en verlies van leefgebied. Om afnemende wilde zalmpopulaties te ondersteunen worden jaarlijks miljoenen Atlantische zalmen gekweekt en vervolgens in rivieren vrijgelaten via uitzettingsprogramma's. De omstandigheden in de kwekerijen zijn echter zeer uniform en prikkelarm, wat tot gevolg heeft dat de vis zich naïef gedraagt na vrijlating in de natuur. Vaak vertonen gekweekte zalmen bijvoorbeeld minder efficïent foerageergedrag en vallen ze snel ten prooi aan predators, en mede daardoor hebben ze een lage overlevingskans in het wild. De effecten van het kweken op het gedrag van vissen zijn redelijk goed beschreven, maar de effecten op de hersenen – het orgaan dat omgevingsprikkels vertaalt in geschikt gedrag – zijn tot nu toe sterk onderbelicht gebleven. De weinige studies die de impact van de kwekerijomgeving op het centraal zenuwstelsel van vissen hebben bestudeerd, hebben met name de expressie van neuroplasticitiets- en neurogenesegenen in kaart gebracht in de gehele hersenen, of in grote hersenstructuren zoals de gehele voorhersenen (telencephalon). De hersenen zijn echter een zeer complex orgaan en bestaan uit een overvloed aan neurale subpopulaties, ieder met verschillende functionaliteiten en kenmerken die specifieke typen gedrag aansturen. Bij het kwantificeren van neuroplasticiteitsmarkers in de gehele hersenen bestudeert men een verzameling van al deze neurale populaties, en nuances tussen hersengebieden kunnen niet worden gedetecteerd. Het doel van dit proefschrift is om een beter inzicht te krijgen in de neurale verschillen in subregio's van het telencephalon tussen wilde zalm en gekweekte zalm, en hoe innovatieve kweekmethoden verbeteringen kunnen bewerkstelligen in de neurobiologie, het gedrag en de overleving van gekweekte zalm. Allereerst hebben we een gedetailleerde karakterisatie gemaakt van de neurobiologie van juveniele wilde zalm en kweekzalm. Daarvoor hebben we de expressie van de neuroplasticiteitsmarker bdnf en de neurale activiteitsmarker cfos gekwantificeerd in vijf neurale subregio's van het telencephalon in wilde zalm en kweekzalm, zowel voor als na blootstelling aan een acute stressor (Paper I). We ontdekten dat de expressie van bdnf en cfos sterk varieerde tussen de bestudeerde subregio's, hetgeen bevestigt dat deze regio's ieder individuele eigenschappen hebben met betrekking tot hun reactie op externe stimuli. Vergeleken met wilde vis vertoonde de kweekvis van dezelfde genetische oorsprong na blootstelling aan stress een hogere neurale activering in het ventrale gebied van het dorsolaterale pallium (Dlv), een hersengebied dat belangrijk is voor relationeel geheugen en ruimtelijke oriëntatie. Gestresste wilde zalm vertoonde een verhoogde expressie van bndf in het dorsomediale pallium (Dm), dat belangrijk is voor het emotioneel geheugen en de stressrespons, terwijl dit niet het geval was voor gekweekte zalm. Deze studie toont aan dat het bestuderen van neurale subregio's in het telencephalon bepaalde expressiepatronen kan onthullen die niet gedetecteerd kunnen worden wanneer het telencephalon in zijn geheel bestudeerd wordt. Verder hebben we aangetoond dat het kweken van invloed is op de neuroplasticiteit en neurale activatie in hersenregio's die belangrijk zijn voor leerprocessen en de stressrespons. Deze resultaten kunnen een mogelijke verklaring geven voor de gedragsverschillen die worden waargenomen tussen wilde zalm en gekweekte zalm. Nadat we de neurale verschillen tussen wilde zalm en gekweekte zalm hadden gekarakteriseerd in de subregio's van het telencephalon, hebben we in Paper II onderzocht of de hersenplasticiteit en overlevingskansen van gekweekte zalm kunnen worden verbeterd door de kwekerij te verrijken met objecten als stenen en planten ('milieuverrijking'). Na zeven weken in een verrijkte omgeving hadden gekweekte zalmen een significant hogere overlevingskans na uitzetting in de rivier, vergeleken met een controlegroep die onder standaard omstandigheden was gekweekt. De verhoogde overlevingskans leek echter niet gepaard te gaan te met significante veranderingen in hersenplasticiteit. Hoewel milieuverrijking een aantal (maar inconsistente) gunstige effecten heeft laten zien op het succes van uitzettingsprogramma's, zijn de eigenaren van kwekerijen terughoudend om milieuverrijking te implementeren vanwege hygiënische en operationele bezwaren. Het is daarom belangrijk om alternatieve kweekmethoden te ontwikkelen die een gunstig effect hebben op de neurale ontwikkeling van vissen, zonder praktische nadelen mee te brengen voor kwekerijen. Een van deze alternatieve kweekmethoden is het implementeren van zwemtraining, waarvan in eerdere studies al is gebleken dat het de overlevingskans van uitgezette zalm ten goede kan komen. Daarnaast is bekend dat rennen positieve effecten heeft op hersenplasticiteit in zoogdieren, maar de neurologische effecten van zwemtraining zijn nog nooit grondig onderzocht in vis. Daarom hebben we in Paper III onderzocht of zwemtraining de hersenplasticiteit en cognitie van Atlantische zalm kan bevorderen. Na acht weken zwemtraining vonden we verhoogde expressie van hersenplasticiteit-gerelateerde genen in het telencephalon van getrainde zalm. Echter, we hebben geen bewijs gevonden van verhoogde cognitie in getrainde vissen met betrekking tot het ruimtelijk geheugen bij het oplossen van een doolhof. Hoewel eerdere studies positieve fysiologische effecten van zwemtraining in vissen beschrijven, zoals een efficiëntere lichaamsgroei en verminderde stress, is dit de eerste keer dat is aangetoond dat zwemtraining ook de hersenplasticiteit van zalmen kan bevorderen. Daarom lijkt zwemtraining een veelbelovende methode om de overlevingskansen van uitgezette zalm te bevorderen. De resultaten die gepresenteerd worden in dit proefschrift leveren een bijdrage op het terrein van de toegepaste visneurobiologie doordat we de expressie van hersenplasticiteitsmarkers in het telencephalon van Atlantische zalm op een meer gedetailleerd niveau hebben gekarakteriseerd dan ooit tevoren. We laten zien dat milieuverrijking de overlevingskans van jonge zalm in de zoetwaterfase kan verbeteren, maar dat effecten van milieuverrijking op hersenplasticiteit beperkt zijn in de bestudeerde regio's van het telencephalon. We identificeren zwemtraining als een veelbelovende alternatieve kweekmethode om de hersenplasticiteit in zalm te bevorderen, en merken daarnaast op dat zwemtraining toegevoegde fysiologische voordelen biedt en relatief eenvoudig te implementeren is in de kwekerij. Daarom stellen we voor dat toekomstige studies zich richten op de validatie van zwemtraining als methode om kweekomstandigheden te optimaliseren, en dat verder onderzoek de samenhang tussen kweekomstandigheden, hersenen en gedrag nauwkeuriger in kaart brengt. ; The European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 642893: Improved Production Strategies for Endangered Freshwater Species, "IMPRESS" The Europeun Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 652831 (AQUAEXCEL2020) for providing Transnational Access to Wageningen University & Research for Paper III The Research Council of Norway under the HAVBRUK programme, project number 268075/E40, for supplying a travel grant to support the work presented in Paper III COST Action FA1304 "Swimming of fish and implications for migration and aquaculture (FITFISH)" for funding the short-term scientific mission that led to Paper III The Physiology Division of the American Fisheries Society for providing a travel award to attend the 13th International Congress on the Biology of Fish in Calgary, Canada