Abstract
[Purpose]Voluntary loaded wheel running involves the use of a load during a voluntary running activity. A muscle-strength or power-type activity performed at a relatively high intensity and a short duration may cause fewer apparent metabolic adaptations but may still elicit muscle fiber hypertrophy. This study aimed to determine the effects of acute voluntary wheel running with an additional load on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the rat hippocampus. [Methods]Ten-week old male Wistar rats were assigned randomly to a (1) sedentary (Control) group; (2) voluntary exercise with no load (No-load) group; or (3) voluntary exercise with an additional load (Load) group for 1-week (acute period). The expression of BDNF genes was quantified by real-time PCR. [Results]The average distance levels were not significantly different in the No-load and Load groups. However, the average work levels significantly increased in the Load group. The relative soleus weights were greater in the No-load group. Furthermore, loaded wheel running up-regulated the BDNF mRNA level compared with that in the Control group. The BDNF mRNA levels showed a positive correlation with workload levels (r=0.75), suggesting that the availability of multiple workload levels contributes to the BDNF-related benefits of loaded wheel running noted in this study. [Conclusion]This novel approach yielded the first set of findings showing that acute voluntary loaded wheel running, which causes muscular adaptation, enhanced BDNF expression, suggesting a possible role of high-intensity short-term exercise in hippocampal BDNF activity.
Highlights
It is well known that several weeks of physical exercise affect the body, and brain and mental functions
We demonstrated that voluntary loaded wheel running (LWR), which causes functional adaptation in fast muscle, results in enhanced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expression
In accordance with a previous study, which showed that voluntary wheel exercise increases hippocampal BDNF levels 9, our results show that LWR, which increased energy expenditure with load but did not increase running distance, replicates the effects of No-load on BDNF expression
Summary
It is well known that several weeks of physical exercise affect the body, and brain and mental functions. Previous studies have indicated that exercise can improve cognitive function, reduce anxiety and depression 1, and protect the brain from neurodegenerative disorders 2. Physical exercise enhances synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, a site critical for neurogenesis and cognitive function 3. Accumulating evidence suggests that BDNF plays an important role in cognitive function 7 and synaptic plasticity 8. Previous studies have already shown that physical exercise increases the levels of BDNF mRNA and protein [9, 10] and its high-affinity receptor tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) 11-13 in the hippocampus. The effects of exercise on hippocampal plasticity are similar to those of BDNF application, suggesting that exercise-induced changes in BDNF are important for the exercise-enhanced hippocampal functions
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