The effect of Aerobic Training on Anxiety and Serotonin levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of rats with Alzheimer's disease

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper I Open Access I Released under (CC BY-NC 4.0) license

Authors

1 Master's Degree in Sports Physiology, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Payam Noor University, Karaj Center, Iran

2 Department of Sports Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Payam Noor University,. Tehran, Iran

10.22049/jahssp.2025.30100.1698

Abstract

The positive effects of exercise training on mood and behavioral disorders in Alzheimer's patients as a non-pharmacological approach are of interest to researchers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic training on the level of anxiety and serotonin levels in the hippocampus. and the prefrontal cortex of rats suffering from Alzheimer's. Method: 40 male Wistar rats (80-90 days, 237±33 grams) were randomly divided into four groups (N=10): control, training, Alzheimer and Alzheimer+training. They had two weeks of adaptation to the environment and 12 weeks of aerobic training on the treadmill. The Alzheimer's disease model was created at the end of the ninth week by injecting 3 mg/kg of streptozocin into the ventricular region of the brain. After disease induction, aerobic exercise was continued for three weeks. At the end of the training period, the dark and light box test was performed to estimate the anxiety level of the rats, then to separate the hippocampus and prefrontal areas, and finally to measure the amount of serotonin using the MyBio kit and the ELISA technique. To analyze the data, one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc test (P<0.05) was performed by SPSS software. Results: The anxiety level of the rats in the Alzheimer+training was significantly reduced compared to the Alzheimer's group (P=0.001). The average time and number of entering the light section was higher than the Alzheimer's group. Serotonin levels in the prefrontal region of Alzheimer+training group increased significantly compared to the Alzheimer's group (P=0.001). However, this increase was insignificant in the hippocampus region (P=0.149). In none of the variables, there were no significant difference between Alzheimer+training and the healthy training groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Having an active lifestyle and performing aerobic exercise, by increasing the secretion of serotonin hormone in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, reduces the  level of anxiety in Rats with Alzheimer's disease.

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References

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Journal of Applied Health Studies in Sport Physiology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 25 March 2025

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  • Receive Date: 02 November 2024
  • Revise Date: 22 March 2025
  • Accept Date: 22 March 2025

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