Resistance Exercise Enhances Cognitive Function in Mouse

Abstract

Physical exercise has been shown to increase adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus and to enhance synaptic plasticity. It has been demonstrated that these neuroprotective effects can be observed following aerobic exercise. However, it remains unknown whether plasticity molecules, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB), are expressed in the hippocampus following resistance exercise. We applied voluntary progressive-resistance wheel exercise (RE) for 14 days, and measured BDNF and CREB in the hippocampus. The Morris water maze was also performed to estimate learning and memory. Furthermore, we measured RE effects on mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and 70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70S6K) mediating muscle protein synthesis in the soleus. As a result, we found that RE enhanced cognition and elevated BDNF and CREB expressions in the hippocampus. Also, RE activated the mTOR-p70S6K signaling pathway in the soleus. We found that phosphorylated mTOR and p70S6K were significantly positively correlated with BDNF expression. Our results indicated that resistance exercise drove the protein synthesis signaling pathway in the soleus and enhanced hippocampal synaptic plasticity-related molecules. These results suggest the beneficial effects of resistance exercise on cognitive function.

Physical activity and exercise attenuate neuroinflammation in neurological diseases

“…The demonstrated improvements in learning and memory correlated with a 2-fold increase in neurogenesis in the hippocampus of PA mice (Gibbons et al, 2014). Several other studies presented similar results, demonstrating elevated brain concentrations of BDNF, VEGF and IGF-1, a decrease in ROS and increased learning and memory with the introduction of PA and exercise (Erickson et al, 2012;Eyre and Baune, 2012;Radak et al, 2007;Radak et al, 2013;Suijo et al, 2013;Yu et al, 2014). PA and exercise have also been shown to improve memory in mouse models of AD, and it has been suggested that this improvement may be attributed to the PA-induced decline in neuroinflammation (Kang et al, 2013;Tapia-Rojas et al, 2016;Zhao et al, 2015).…”

“…Experimental and epidemiological studies have demonstrated that living a healthy and physically active lifestyle reduces the risk (Barnes and Yaffe, 2011;Scarmeas et al, 2009;Zou et al, 2015) and severity of neurological diseases (Archer and Kostrzewa, 2015;Canning et al, 2015;Erickson et al, 2012;Eyre and Baune, 2012;Frazzitta et al, 2015;Frazzitta et al, 2014;Liu et al, 2013;Radak et al, 2007;Radak et al, 2013;Suijo et al, 2013;Uc et al, 2014;Yu et al, 2014). However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for these beneficial effects of PA have not been established.…”

Endocrine alterations from concentric vs. eccentric muscle actions: A brief review

“…Much of this is likely due to the realization of benefits of resistance training that is now recommended for the prevention and rehabilitation of disease and musculoskeletal injury [1,2,3,4,5]. Resistance exercise is known to have positive health effects on numerous tissues including heart [6], bone [7], skeletal muscle [8] and corticospinal [9] as well as hippocampal [10] nervous tissue.…”

Regular exercise prevents non-cognitive disturbances in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease

“…Exercised animals show an enhanced performance in spatial learning and memory tasks such as the Morris water maze and radial arm water maze (Khabour et al, 2013; Suijo et al, 2013). Exercise can also modify non-spatial learning and memory as shown in passive avoidance and object recognition (Bechara and Kelly, 2013; Hosseini et al, 2013; Radahmadi et al, 2013; Souza et al, 2013).…”