Moderate exercise changes synaptic and cytoskeletal proteins in motor regions of the rat brain

Abstract

Physical exercise is known to enhance brain function in several aspects. We evaluated the acute effects of a moderate forced exercise protocol on synaptic proteins, namely synapsin I (SYN) and synaptophysin (SYP), and structural proteins (neurofilaments, NFs) in rat brain regions related to motor function and often affected by neurodegenerative disorders. Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and real-time PCR were used to analyze the expression of those proteins after 3, 7 and 15days of exercise (EX3, EX7 and EX15). In the cerebellum, increase of SYN was observed at EX7 and EX15 and of NF68 at EX3. In the substantia nigra, increases of protein levels were observed for NF68 and NF160 at EX3. In the striatum, there was an increase of SYN at EX3 and EX7, of SYP at EX7 and of NF68 at EX3. In the cortex, decreased levels of NF68 and NF160 were observed at EX3, followed by an increase of NF68 at EX15. In the reticular formation, all NF proteins were increased at EX15. The mRNA data for each time-point and region also revealed significant exercise-related changes of SYN, SYP and NF expression. These results suggest that moderate physical exercise modulates synaptic and structural proteins in motor brain areas, which may play an important role in the exercise-dependent brain plasticity.

Effects of antidepressant and treadmill gait training on recovery from spinal cord injury in rats

“…Furthermore, the animals injured as neonates showed greater susceptibility to training; that finding suggested that the age at injury may influence plasticity. 29 Ferreira et al 30 used short, daily training (like ours); they suggested that moderate physical exercise could modulate synaptic and structural proteins in motor brain areas, which may play an important role in exercise-dependent brain plasticity. 30 This synergistic effect had been studied previously by Engesser-Cesar et al, 11 who examined the effect of intraperitoneal fluoxetine and treadmill training on production of the hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurogenesis.…”

“…Exercise improved gait and led to neurological recovery, 27 probably by enabling the intrinsic neuronal circuitry. 28 The training regimen used in our study was based on a regimen previously described by Petruska et al 29 and Ferreira et al 30 Petruska et al 29 used 15-min, 6-21 cm s À1 treadmill training with SpragueDawley rats that had undergone surgical transections of the spinal cords. Those rats showed significant changes in the cellular properties of motor neurons and the synaptic input from spinal white matter and muscle spindle afferents.…”

Movement-Based Priming: Clinical Applications and Neural Mechanisms

“…Studies examining the mechanisms of exercise on brain plasticity using animal models have revealed that exercise influences synaptic transmission (Vaynman, Ying, Yin, & Gomez-Pinilla, 2006), enhances neurogenesis (van Praag, Christie, Sejnowski, & Gage, 1999) and neuronal activation (Holschneider, Yang, Guo, & Maarek, 2007), increases cerebral blood flow (Pereira et al, 2007), and moderates activity of neurotransmitters (Real, Ferreira, Hernandes, Britto, & Pires, 2010) and synaptic proteins (Ferreira, Real, Rodrigues, Alves, & Britto, 2010) responsible for neural plasticity. A few studies have investigated the effects of acute aerobic exercise on M1 excitability.…”

Running wheel training does not change neurogenesis levels or alter working memory tasks in adult rats

“…Exercise has been considered an important stimulus in different processes of cerebral plasticity (Ferreira et al, 2010; Zarate et al, 2014), cell proliferation (Li et al, 2013a; Van Praag et al, 1999; Van Praag, Kempermann & Gage, 1999), reduction of aging effects (Acevedo-Triana, Ávila Campos & Cardenas, 2014; Pietrelli et al, 2012), protection for disorders resulting from exposure to stress (Nishijima et al, 2013; Zarate et al, 2014) and as a facilitator for survival and functionality of new neurons in the hippocampus (Lou et al, 2008; Marais, Stein & Daniels, 2009). …”

“…It has also been suggested that although the effects may be due to a change in specific structures, there are also a number of cognitive effects that are not necessarily explained by changes in the hippocampus; for example, the cognitive decline in aging could be due to changes in the cerebral cortex (Dietrich et al, 2005; Ferreira et al, 2010), basal ganglia or cerebellum (Holschneider et al, 2007). Lambourne & Tomporowski (2010) reported that intense physical training has a beneficial effect on cognitive performance.…”