The effects of exercise during pregnancy on the newborn’s brain: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Trials

Dave Ellemberg²  Samuel St-Jacques²  Daniel Curnier¹  Elise L LeMoyne² 

[1] Department of Kinesiology, University of Montreal, 2100 Edouard Montpetit, Montreal, Canada;Centre de Recherche En Neuropsychologie Et Cognition (CERNEC), Montreal, Canada

关键词: Pregnancy;    Newborn;    Mismatch negativity;    Exercise;    Event-related potentials;   

Others  :  1095566
DOI  :  10.1186/1745-6215-13-68

 received in 2011-10-12, accepted in 2012-05-29,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

It is generally accepted that an active lifestyle is beneficial for cognition in children, adults and the elderly. Recently, studies using the rat animal model found that the pups of mothers who exercised during pregnancy had increased hippocampal neurogenesis and better memory and learning abilities. The aim of this report is to present the experimental protocol of a study that is designed to verify if an active lifestyle during pregnancy in humans has an impact on the newborn's brain.

Methods

60 pregnant women will be included in a randomized controlled study. The experimental group will be asked to exercise a minimum of 20 minutes three times per week, at a minimal intensity of 55% of their maximal aerobic capacity. The control group will not be exercising. The effect of exercise during pregnancy on the newborn's brain will be investigated 8 to 12 days postpartum by means of the mismatch negativity, a neurophysiological brain potential that is associated to auditory sensory memory. We hypothesize that children born to mothers who exercised during their pregnancy will present shorter latencies and larger mismatch negativity amplitudes, indicating more efficient auditory memory processes.

Discussion

As of September 2011, 17 women have joined the study. Preliminary results show that the experimental group are active 3.1 ± 0.9 days per week while the control group only exercise 0.8 ± 0.6 days per week. The results of this study will present insight on fetal neuroplasticity and will be a valuable tool for health professionals who wish to encourage pregnant women to exercise.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NTC01220778

【 授权许可】

   
2012 LeMoyne et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Ellemberg D, St-Louis-Deschenes M: The effect of acute physical exercise on cognitive function during development. Psychol Sport Exerc 2010, 11:122-126.
• [2]Hillman CH, Buck SM, Themanson JR, Pontifex MB, Castelli DM: Aerobic fitness and cognitive development: event-related brain potential and task performance indices of executive control in preadolescent children. Dev Psychol 2009, 45:114-129.
• [3]Tomporowski PD, Davis CL, Miller PH, Naglieri JA: Exercise and children’s intelligence, cognition, and academic achievement. Educ Psychol Rev 2007, 20:111-131.
• [4]Christie BR, Eadie BD, Kannangara TS, Robillard JM, Shin J, Titterness AK: Exercising our brains: how physical activity impacts synaptic plasticity in the dentate gyrus. Neuromol Med 2008, 10:47-58.
• [5]Renaud M, Bherer L, Maquestiaux F: A high level of physical fitness is associated with more efficient response preparation in older adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2010, 65B:317-322.
• [6]Davis CL, Tomporowski PD, Boyle CA, Waller JL, Miller PH, Naglieri JA, Gregoski M: Effects of aerobic exercise on overweight children’s cognitive functioning: a randomized controlled trial. Res Q Exerc Sport 2007, 78:510-519.
• [7]Parnpiansil P, Kotchabhakdi N: Exercise during pregnancy increase dendritic spine density and intersections in CA1 region of hippocampus and spatial learning. J Neurochem 2004, 88:37-37.
• [8]Parnpiansil P, Jutapakdeegul N, Chentanez T, Kotchabhakdi N: Exercise during pregnancy increases hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA expression and spatial learning in neonatal rat pup. Neurosci Lett 2003, 352:45-48.
• [9]Parnpiansil P, Jutapukdikul N, Kotchaphakdi N: Influence of maternal exercise on BDNF mRNA expression in hippocampus of exercised rats pup including learning and memory. J Neurochem 2003, 87:75-75.
• [10]Jutapakdeegul N, Parnpiansil P, Kotchabhakdi N: Maternal exercise increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expression in several brain areas of neonatal rat pups. J Neurochem 2004, 88:90-90.
• [11]Lee H-H, Kim H, Lee J-W, Kim Y-S, Yang H-Y, Chang H-K, Lee T-H, Shin M-C, Lee M-H, Shin M-S, Park S, Baek S, Kim C-J: Maternal swimming during pregnancy enhances short-term memory and neurogenesis in the hippocampus of rat pups. Brain Dev 2006, 28:147-154.
• [12]Akhavan MM, Emami-Abarghoie M, Safari M, Sadighi-Moghaddam B, Vafaei AA, Bandegi AR, Rashidi-Pour A: Serotonergic and noradrenergic lesions suppress the enhancing effect of maternal exercise during pregnancy on learning and memory in rat pups. Neuroscience 2008, 151:1173-1183.
• [13]Kim H, Lee S-H, Kim S-S, Yoo J-H, Kim C-J: The influence of maternal treadmill running during pregnancy on short-term memory and hippocampal cell survival in rat pups. Int J Dev Neuroscience 2007, 25:243-249.
• [14]Bick-Sander A, Steiner B, Wolf SA, Babu H, Kempermann G: Running in pregnancy transiently increases postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis in the offspring. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2006, 103:3852-3857.
• [15]Clapp JF, Lopez B, Harcar-Sevcik R: Neonatal behavioral profile of the offspring of women who continued to exercise regularly throughout pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1999, 180:91-94.
• [16]Clapp JF, Simonian S, Lopez B, Appleby-Wineberg S, Harcar-Sevcik R: The one-year morphometric and neurodevelopmental outcome of the offspring of women who continued to exercise regularly throughout pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1998, 178:594-599.
• [17]Clapp JF: Morphometric and neurodevelopmental outcome at age five years of the offspring of women who continued to exercise regularly throughout pregnancy. J Pediatr 1996, 129:856-863.
• [18]Naatanen R, Jacobsen T, Winkler I: Memory-based or afferent processes in mismatch negativity (MMN): a review of the evidence. Psychophysiology 2005, 42:25-32.
• [19]Naatanen R, Tervaniemi M, Sussman E, Paavilainen P, Winkler I: “Primitive intelligence” in the auditory cortex. Trends Neurosci 2001, 24:283-288.
• [20]Masaaki T, Osami O, Tatsuo F, Kensuke H: A study of mismatch negativity in newborns. Pediatr Int 2001, 43:281-286.
• [21]Kushnerenko E, Ceponiene R, Balan P, Fellman V, Naatanen R: Maturation of the auditory change detection response in infants: a longitudinal ERP study. Neuroreport 2002, 13:1843-1848.
• [22]Cheour M, Ceponiene R, Hukki J, Haapanen ML, Naatanen R, Alho K: Brain dysfunction in neonates with cleft palate revealed by the mismatch negativity. Clin Neurophysiol 1999, 110:324-328.
• [23]Dunn MA, Gomes H, Gravel J: Mismatch negativity in children with autism and typical development. J Autism Dev Disord 2008, 38:52-71.
• [24]Schmidt MD, Freedson PS, Pekow P, Roberts D, Sternfeld B, Chasan-Taber L: Validation of the Kaiser physical activity survey in pregnant women. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2006, 38:42-50.
• [25]Public Health Agency of Canada: The sensible guide to a healthy pregnancy. , Ottawa; 2008.
• [26]Borg GAV: Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1982, 14:377-381.
• [27]Pollock M, Wilmore J: Evaluation and prescription for prevention and rehabilitation. In Exercise in Health and Disease. 2nd edition. WB Saunders Company, Philadelphia;
• [28]He C, Hotson L, Trainor LJ: Development of infant mismatch responses to auditory pattern changes between 2 and 4 months old. Eur J Neurosci 2009, 29:861-867.
• [29]Tucker D: Spatial sampling of head electrical fields: the geodesic sensor net. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 1993, 87:154-163.
• [30]Ceponiene R, Kushnerenko E, Fellman V, Renlund M, Suominen K, Naatanen R: Event-related potential features indexing central auditory discrimination by newborns. Cognit Brain Res 2002, 13:101-113.
• [31]Colley RC, Hills AP, King NA, Byrne NM: Exercise-induced energy expenditure: implications for exercise prescription and obesity. Patient Educ Couns 2010, 79:327-332.
• [32]Beck AT, Steer R: Beck Anxiety Inventory Manual. Psychological Corporation, San Antonio, TX; 1990.