title: The Effect of Preventive, Therapeutic and Protective Exercises on Hippocampal Memory Mediators in Stressed Rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Exercise plays a significant role in learning and memory. The present study focuses on the hippocampal corticosterone (CORT), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), glucose, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in preventive, therapeutic, and protective exercises in stressful conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty male rats were randomly divided into four groups: the control group and the preventive, therapeutic, and protective exercise groups. The treadmill running was applied at a speed of 20-21m/min and a chronic stress of 6 hours/day for 21 days. Subsequently, the variables were measured in the hippocampus.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings revealed that the hippocampal CORT levels in the preventive exercise group had a significant enhancement compared to the control group. In the protective and particularly the therapeutic exercise groups, the hippocampal CORT levels declined. Furthermore, the hippocampal BDNF levels in the preventive and the therapeutic exercise groups indicated significantly decreased and increased, respectively, in comparison with the control group. In the preventive exercise group, however, the hippocampal glucose level turned out to be substantially higher than that in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It appears that the therapeutic exercise group had the best exercise protocols for improving the hippocampal memory mediators in the stress conditions. By contrast, the preventive exercise group could not improve these mediators that had been altered by stress. It is suggested that exercise time, compared to stress, can be considered as a crucial factor in the responsiveness of memory mediators.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radahmadi
authors.affiliation: Nursing Care Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Nasrin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hojjatallah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sharifi
keywords: Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; Corticosterone; Exercise; Glucose; Interleukin-1βeta; Stress