Researchers gave healthy rats daily hyperbaric oxygen (100% O2 at 2.4 ATA for 1 hour) for seven days and then measured electrical signals in the hippocampus, a brain area important for learning and memory. Treated rats showed much stronger long-term potentiation (LTP)—a lasting increase in the strength of synaptic connections—than controls, meaning their brain circuits were more able to strengthen after stimulation. Molecular tests showed higher levels of BDNF (a protein that supports neurons) and activated CREB1 (a molecule that helps turn on memory-related genes), suggesting the oxygen treatment boosted plasticity by turning on this growth-and-memory pathway. The study suggests hyperbaric oxygen can enhance memory-related brain function even in healthy brains <view study>