The Effect of 8 Weeks of Moderate-intensity Swimming Exercise on the Memory and IL-10 Level in the Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex of Mice with Traumatic Brain Injury

Brain trauma is one of the most common causes of damage to the central nervous system which can lead to death and long-term disability. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of 8 weeks of swimming exercise on the level of memory and interleukin 10 (IL-10) in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of mice with brain trauma.

40 male NMRI mice were randomly divided into four groups (control, swimming, trauma, swimming + trauma). After completing the exercise protocol, induction of trauma was performed by the weight -drop method. Ten days after trauma induction, the mice were evaluated for spatial memory with Y-maze test. The IL- 10 level was measured using ELISA technique. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc test were used for statistical analysis at a significance level of p<0.05 and using SPSS software version 26.

The study results indicated that eight weeks of swimming exercise significantly increase memory in mice with brain trauma (p=0.001). Furthermore, eight weeks of swimming exercise significantly increase the level of IL-10 in the hippocampus of mice with brain trauma (p=0.001). However, this increase was not significant in the prefrontal cortex (p=0.126).

The results of the present study showed that swimming exercise before induction of brain trauma reduces inflammation and memory disorders and facilitates recovery after injury. Previous exercise training can probably reduce inflammation by increasing the amount of anti-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-10, and limit secondary damage with its protective effect.