Exercise Alleviates Cognitive Functions by Enhancing Hippocampal Insulin Signaling and Neuroplasticity in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity

Nutrients

Hye-Sang Park¹  Chang-Ju Kim²  Tae-Woon Kim²  Sang-Seo Park²  Mal-Soon Shin³ 

[1] Department of Kinesiology, College of Public Health and Cardiovascular Research Center, Lewis Katz school of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA;Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, KyungHee University, Seoul 02447, Korea;School of Global sport studies, Korea University, Sejong 30019, Korea;

关键词: exercise;    obesity;    cognitive function;    hippocampus;    insulin signaling;    neuroplasticity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nu11071603

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Obesity, caused by a high-fat diet (HFD), leads to insulin resistance, which is a precursor of diabetes and a risk factor for impaired cognitive function, dementia, and brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Physical exercise has positive effects on obesity and brain functions. We investigated whether the decline in cognitive function caused by a HFD could be improved through exercise by examining insulin signaling pathways and neuroplasticity in the hippocampus. Four-week-old C57BL/6 male mice were fed a HFD or a regular diet for 20 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of treadmill exercise. To ascertain the effects of treadmill exercise on impaired cognitive function caused by obesity, the present study implemented behavioral testing (Morris water maze, step-down). Moreover, insulin-signaling and neuroplasticity were measured in the hippocampus and dentate gyrus. Our results demonstrated that HFD-fed obesity-induced insulin resistance was improved by exercise. In addition, the HFD group showed a decrease in insulin signaling and neuroplasticity in the hippocampus and the dentate gyrus and increased cognitive function impairment, which were reversed by physical exercise. Overall, our findings indicate that physical exercise may act as a non-pharmacologic method that protects against cognitive dysfunction caused by obesity by improving hippocampal insulin signaling and neuroplasticity.

【 授权许可】

Unknown