Effect of exercise on learning and memory in a rat model of developmental stress |
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Authors: | Laurian Grace Sarah Hescham Lauriston A Kellaway Kishor Bugarith Vivienne A Russell |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, Observatory, 7925, South Africa; |
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Abstract: | Adverse life events occurring in early development can result in long-term effects on behavioural, physiological and cognitive
processes. In particular, perinatal stressors impair neurogenesis in the hippocampus which consequently impairs memory formation.
Exercise has previously been shown to have antidepressant effects and to increase cognitive functioning by increasing neurogenesis
and neurotrophins in the hippocampus. The current study examined the effects of maternal separation, which has been shown
to model anxiety in animals, and the effects of exercise on learning and memory. Forty-five male Sprague-Dawley rats were
divided into four groups, maternally separated / non-runners, maternally separated / runners, non-separated / runners and
non-separated / non-runners. Maternal separation occurred from postnatal day 2 (P2) to 14 (P14) for 3 h per day. Exercised
rats were given voluntary access to individual running wheels attached to their cages from P29 to P49. Behavioural testing
(Morris water maze (MWM) and object recognition tests) took place from P49 to P63. Maternally separated rats showed no significant
difference in anxiety levels in the elevated plus maze and the open field compared to the normally reared controls. However,
rats that were allowed voluntary access to running wheels showed increased levels of anxiety in the elevated plus maze and
in the open field. Maternal separation did not have any effect on memory performance in the MWM or the object recognition
tasks. Exercise increased spatial learning and memory in the MWM with the exercised rats displaying a decreased latency in
locating the hidden platform than the non-exercised rats. The exercised rats spent significantly less time exploring the most
recently encountered object in the temporal order task in comparison to the non-exercised controls, therefore showing improved
temporal recognition memory. All groups performed the same on the other recognition tasks, with all rats showing intact memory
performance. Results indicate that maternal separation had little effect on the rats whereas exercise enhanced both spatial
and recognition memory. |
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