The Effect of Exercise (Swimming and Running) on Motor Function, learning and Spatial Memory in Elder Male Wistar Rats

In recent years, the effects of exercise on nervous system, spatial memory and motor function in the senescence period have received the attention of researchers. As the age increases, some functions of nervous system such as spatial memory are weakened. Thus, the effect of aerobic exercises including swimming and running on learning, spatial memory and motor function was investigated in old rats. The study was experimental. 30 rats (18 months old) were randomly divided into three groups: experimental 1 (running on a treadmill), experimental 2 (swimming in the water maze) and control. Rat treadmill was used for subject's exercise, Morris water maze device was used to apply exercise protocol and to examine their memory and learning and open field device was used to examine subject's motor function. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. The results were reported as mean + SD and suggested that in spatial memory test (time to reach the target and the covered distance to reach the target), Experimental 1 group (swimming) significantly outperformed control and experimental 2 (running) groups (P=0.001). Treadmill group had a better performance in spatial memory test (time to reach the target) than control group (P=0.04). In motor function test (open field test), experimental 1 and 2 groups were significantly superior to the control group in the total distance covered (P=0.001, P=0.002 respectively). In the mean speed covered in the open field test, Experimental 1 and 2 groups were significantly superior to the control group (P=0.001, P=0.003 respectively). The results showed that aerobic exercise especially swimming had a positive effect on memory consolidation, retention and motor function, that is, exercise probably improves reward paths in the nervous system of the rats and this factor can be a reason for memory consolidation and learning in the nervous system.