The Effect of Different Intensities of Treadmill Exercise on Cognitive Function Deficit Following a Severe Controlled Cortical Impact in Rats

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Xiafeng Shen²  Aiping Li¹  Yuling Zhang²  XiaoMin Dong¹  Tian Shan²  Yi Wu²  Jie Jia² 

[1] Rehabilitation Medicine Center, Nanjing Military Region Sanatorium of Hangzhou, Hangzhou 310007, Zhejiang, China; E-Mail:;Department of Rehabilitation, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China; E-Mails:

关键词: controlled cortical impact;    treadmill running;    spatial memory;    intensity;    BDNF;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms141121598

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Exercise has been proposed for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the proper intensity of exercise in the early phase following a severe TBI is largely unknown. To compare two different treadmill exercise intensities on the cognitive function following a severe TBI in its early phase, rats experienced a controlled cortical impact (CCI) and were forced to treadmill exercise for 14 days. The results revealed that the rats in the low intensity exercise group had a shorter latency to locate a platform and a significantly better improvement in spatial memory in the Morris water maze (MWM) compared to the control group (p < 0.05). The high intensity exercise group showed a longer latency and a mild improvement in spatial memory compared to the control group rats in the MWM; however, this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and p-CREB protein levels in the contralateral hippocampus were increased significantly in the low intensity exercise group. Our results suggest that 2 weeks of low intensity of treadmill exercise is beneficial for improving cognitive function and increasing hippocampal BDNF expression after a severe TBI in its early phase.

【 授权许可】

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© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland