Comparison of Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training and Continuous Training on Memory and Correlation with Antioxidant Enzyme Activity in the Rat Brain

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effects of six-week continuous training (CT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocols on brain superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activities and their associations with short-, mid-, and long-term memory in albino Wistar rats. Methods: In this study, 18 male albino Wistar rats (5 months old) were randomly assigned to three equal (n = 6) groups of sedentary control (SC), CT, and HIIT. Both CT and HIIT regimens were performed for 6 consecutive days per week for 6 weeks. Results: Both HIIT and CT regimens increased short-, mid-, and long-term memory, and the alterations were greater following HIIT than CT. In addition, both HIIT and CT regimens significantly increased SOD activity, with a higher elevation following HIIT than CT. Moreover, brain SOD activity positively correlated with short-, mid-, and long-term memory. However, neither CT nor HIIT had a significant effect on brain GPX and CAT activities. Conclusions: The HIIT regimen is highly potential, as opposed to the CT regimen, to improve memory function through a greater increase in the SOD activity of the brain.

Effects of Regular and Continuous Exercise on Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis

“…It has been observed that muscle and plasma MDA levels, which increase with acute intense exercise, decrease when exercise is continued regularly [19,20,21,22,23]. Although these results are in parallel with many studies, there are studies indicating that resistance exercise significantly increases ROS production [24,25,26].…”

“…The high GP-X and CAT activities in all groups in our study indicate that both acute and regular exercise positively affect the antioxidant mechanism. In their study, Chadorneshin et al [23] showed that intense exercise increases CAT and GP-X activities. Lambertucci et al [27] reported that aerobic exercise increased antioxidant enzyme activity in both old and young rats.…”

Superior cardiometabolic and cellular adaptive responses to multiple versus single daily sessions of high-intensity interval training in Wistar rats

“…Breaking up sedentary behavior with brief bouts of vigorous exercise throughout the day has been proposed as a feasible and efficient approach to improving cardiometabolic health 5 , 6 . Using the term “exercise snacks”, Francois et al 7 demonstrated that brief, intense exercise bouts before main meals improved glycemic control in individuals with insulin resistance.…”