title: Effects of treadmill exercise intensity on spatial working memory and long-term memory in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Moderate exercise promotes learning and memory. Most studies mainly focused on memory exercise effects of in the ageing and patients. There is lack of quantitative research about effect of regular exercise intensity on different memory types in normal subjects. Present study investigated the effects of different intensities of treadmill exercise on working memory and long-term memory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty female Wistar rats were trained by T-maze delayed spatial alternation (DSA) task with 3 delays (10s, 60s and 300s). Then they got a 30min treadmill exercise for 30days in 4 intensities (control, 0m/min; lower, 15m/min; middle, 20m/min, and higher, 30m/min). Then animals were tested in DSA, passive avoidance and Morris water maze tasks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  1. Exercise increased the neuronal density of hippocampal subregions (CA1, CA3 and dentate gyrus) vs. naïve/control. 2. In DSA task, all groups have similar baseline, lower intensity improved 10s delay accuracy vs. baseline/control; middle and higher intensities improved 300s delay accuracy vs. baseline/control. 3. In water maze learning, all groups successfully found the platform, but middle intensity improved platform field crossing times vs. control in test phase.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Present results suggested that treadmill exercise can improve long-term spatial memory and working memory; lower intensity benefits to short-term delayed working memory, and middle or higher intensity benefits to long-term delayed working memory. There was an inverted U dose-effect relationship between exercise intensity and memory performance, but exercise -working memory effect was impacted by delay duration.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of National Physical Health, Altitude Training and Biological Adaptation in Universities of Yunnan, School of Physical Education, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China; Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Qin
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China; Engineering Research Center of Sustainable Development and Utilization of Biomass Energy, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Yunnan for Biomass Energy and Biotechnology of Environment, Kunming 650500, China. Electronic address: waov@tom.com.
authors.forename: Gong-Wu
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D057567:Memory, Long-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000379:methods* / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
keywords: Delayed alternation task; Long-term memory; Morris water maze task; Passive avoidance task; Treadmill exercise; Working memory