The Effect of 4 Weeks of Aerobic Training on Spatial Learning, Memory Performance and Mitochondrial Dynamics in the Hippocampal Tissue of Old Rats

Mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the main risk factors for neurological diseases which are associated with aging. On the other hand, aerobic exercise has beneficial effects on the brain health and cognitive function, and also improves mitochondrial dynamics. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of 4 weeks of aerobic exercise on spatial learning, memory performance and mitochondrial dynamics in the hippocampal tissue of old rats.

For this purpose, 14 male Wistar rats at 20 months of age were randomly divided into 2 groups: aerobic exercise (n=7) and control group (n=7). The exercise group performed 4 weeks of treadmill training (5 days per week at a speed of 10 to 15 m/min). Forty-eight hours after the last training session, the animals underwent behavioral tests. Twenty-four hours after the behavioral test, all rats were killed and hippocampal tissue was extracted. The mRNA expression of OPA1, Mfn2 and Drp1 genes were assayed using Real Time-PCR. The Independent t test was used for statistical analysis.

Aerobic exercise in old animals improved spatial learning and memory performance, increased hippocampal OPA1 gene expression, and decreased Drp1 gene expression compared to the control group (p≤0.01).

It seems that aerobic exercise can improve the function of brain mitochondria by modulating fusion and fission processes and it can be considered as an effective non-pharmacological method to deal with aging-related learning and memory perturbations.