Source Paper
Exercise Enhances Learning and Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Aged Mice
Henriette van Praag, Tiffany Shubert, Chunmei Zhao, Fred H. Gage
Journal of Neuroscience • 2005
View Abstract
Aging causes changes in the hippocampus that may lead to cognitive decline in older adults. In young animals, exercise increases hippocampal neurogenesis and improves learning. We investigated whether voluntary wheel running would benefit mice that were sedentary until 19 months of age. Specifically, young and aged mice were housed with or without a running wheel and injected with bromodeoxyuridine or retrovirus to label newborn cells. After 1 month, learning was tested in the Morris water maze. Aged runners showed faster acquisition and better retention of the maze than age-matched controls. The decline in neurogenesis in aged mice was reversed to 50% of young control levels by running. Moreover, fine morphology of new neurons did not differ between young and aged runners, indicating that the initial maturation of newborn neurons was not affected by aging. Thus, voluntary exercise ameliorates some of the deleterious morphological and behavioral consequences of aging.
Morris Water Maze
Objective: To assess learning and memory through spatial navigation acquisition and retention in the Morris water maze after 1 month of voluntary wheel running or sedentary housing in aged and young mice
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Equipment1
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Protocol Steps
Housing assignment
Young and aged mice were assigned to housing conditions with or without a running wheel
Note: Aged mice were 19 months old at the start of housing
View evidence from paper
“young and aged mice were housed with or without a running wheel”
Cell labeling
Mice were injected with bromodeoxyuridine or retrovirus to label newborn cells
Note: Timing of injections relative to housing period not specified
View evidence from paper
“injected with bromodeoxyuridine or retrovirus to label newborn cells”
Morris water maze testing
After 1 month of housing, learning was tested in the Morris water maze
Note: Testing assessed both acquisition and retention of spatial navigation
View evidence from paper
“After 1 month, learning was tested in the Morris water maze”