Restored presynaptic synaptophysin and cholinergic inputs contribute to the protective effects of physical running on spatial memory in aged mice.

Restored presynaptic synaptophysin and cholinergic inputs contribute to the protective effects of physical running on spatial memory in aged mice. Neurobiol Dis. 2019 Aug 27;:104586 Authors: Xu L, Long J, Su Z, Xu B, Lin M, Chen Y, Long D Abstract The effects of prolonged physical training on memory performance and underlying presynaptic mechanisms were investigated in old C57BL/6 mice. Training via voluntary running wheels was initiated at 16 months of age and continued for 5 months (1 h per day, 5 days per week), followed by testing of learning and memory functions and counting of presynaptic puncta and cholinergic inputs in the hippocampus. Trained old mice were compared to their age-matched sedentary controls and adult controls. This training strategy improved hippocampal-dependent spatial memory function tested via a novel location task, and enhanced memory was accompanied by restored presynaptic puncta and cholinergic fibers in area CA1 and DG of the hippocampus in old mice. Particularly, the training selectively affected presynaptic vesicle protein synaptophysin but not growth associated protein GAP-43, and the increased number of synaptophysin puncta positively correlates with improved memory performance. To better understand the neurochemical mechanisms by which prolonged physical training protects against aging-related memory deficits, the cholinergic inputs to the hippocampus were compared among the three groups of...
Source: Neurobiology of Disease - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Neurobiol Dis Source Type: research