Comparing the Effects of High and Moderate Intensity Exercise on Male and Female Rats with and without PTSD: A Behavioral and Biochemical Study

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that occurs in some people after experiencing shocking events. In this disorder, the function of some hormonal and neurotransmitter systems are disturbed. Physical activity, by inducing beneficial effects on the brain structure, improves anxiety behaviors, increases the level of BDNF, and reduces the harmful effects of some neurological diseases. There are different perspectives on the most effective type of exercise that can have positive effects on physical and mental health. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of high and moderate exercise on healthy male and female rats and rats with PTSD.

Single prolonged stress (SPS) was used to induce PTSD in Wistar rats weighing (200-250 g). Moderate and high intensity exercise was performed and after four weeks, anxiety test was performed by EPM and serum levels of corticosterone, and hippocampal and serum BDNF were measured using Eliza.

The present study showed that SPS leads to increase in anxiety and serum corticosterone and decrease in hippocampal BDNF in male and female rats. Moderate-intensity exercise could improve these factors in male and female sham and PTSD rats, but high intensity exercise has no significant effects (P=0.991, P=0.999, P=0.996, respectively). Our findings showed no significant gender-related differences in these factors (P=1.000, P=0.998, P=0.984, respectively).

Moderate intensity exercise can be a suitable type of physical activity to reduce anxiety and increase hippocampal BDNF.