title: Effects of Swimming Exercise on Learning and Memory in the Kainate-Lesion Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An aerobic exercise (Ex) augments neurogenesis and may ameliorate learning and memory deficits in the rat Kainic Acid (KA) model of temporal lobe epilepsy in the short-term but whether it reverses learning and memory deficits after a substantial period of delay remains unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study tests the hypothesis that aerobic Ex attenuates the learning and memory deficits associated with kainate seizures in the long-term.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 60 rats were subjected to chemical lesioning using KA and to an Ex intervention consisting of a 30 days period of daily swimming for 15 min, immediately after KA lesioning (immediate exposure) or after a 60 days period of normal activity (delayed exposure). We evaluated spatial learning on a T-maze test, expressed as percentage of correct responses. We evaluated memory on a passive-avoidance test, expressed as time spent in a compartment in which the rats were previously exposed to an aversive stimulus.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ex increases the percentage of correct responses, percentage bias, and number of alternations, associated with the T-maze testing for the normal control, sham-operated control and kainate-lesioned animals after both immediate and delayed exposures to Ex. Ex decreased the time exposed to the aversive stimulus in the smaller compartment of the two-compartment passive-avoidance test, also for the normal control, sham-operated control and kainate-lesioned animals after both immediate and delayed exposures to Ex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that, after temporal lobe epileptic seizures in rats, swimming exercise may attenuate the learning and memory deficits, even if the exercise treatment is delayed.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Neuroscience, AUA College of Medicine and Manipal University, Antigua and Department of Anatomy, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University , Manipal, India .
authors.forename: Vasavi Rakesh
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Gorantla
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Medical Pharmacology, AUA College of Medicine , Antigua .
authors.forename: Sudhakar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pemminati
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Recreation, Human Performance & Leisure Studies and Exercise Science & Human Nutrition Laboratory, Howard University Cancer Centre , Washington, DC 20060, United States of America .
authors.forename: Vernon
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bond
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Behavioural Science and Neuroscience, AUA College of Medicine , Antigua .
authors.forename: Dewey G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Meyers
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Medical Physiology, AUA College of Medicine , Antigua .
authors.forename: Richard Mark
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Millis
keywords: Aerobic exercise; Hippocampus; Kainic acid; Motor cortex; Neurogenesis; Rats; Seizures