Sex Differences in Spatial Learning and Memory in Valproic Acid Rat Model of Autism: Possible Beneficial Role of Exercise Interventions

In the current study, we first tried to determine sex differences in spatial learning and memory in the valproic acid (VPA) rat model of autism. Second, the effects of interval training (IT) and continuous training (CT) exercises were examined in male and female offsprings. To induce autism-like ani...

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Veröffentlicht in:Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience Jg. 16; S. 869792
Hauptverfasser: Ghahremani, Reza, Mohammadkhani, Reihaneh, Salehi, Iraj, Karimi, Seyed Asaad, Zarei, Mohammad
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Switzerland Frontiers Research Foundation 25.04.2022
Frontiers Media S.A
Schlagworte:
Animal cognition
Animal memory
Animal models
Autism
autistic rats
Cognitive ability
Embryos
exercise
Gender differences
Memory
Neuroscience
Offspring
Prenatal experience
Rodents
sex difference
Sex differences
Spatial discrimination learning
Spatial memory
Valproic acid
autistic rats
exercise
valproic acid
sex difference
spatial memory
ISSN:1662-5153, 1662-5153
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Zusammenfassung:In the current study, we first tried to determine sex differences in spatial learning and memory in the valproic acid (VPA) rat model of autism. Second, the effects of interval training (IT) and continuous training (CT) exercises were examined in male and female offsprings. To induce autism-like animal model, the pregnant rats were injected 500 mg/kg NaVPA (intraperitoneal) at the embryonic day 12.5. IT and CT aerobic exercises were started at postnatal day 56. Then, on postnatal days 84–89, a Morris water maze (MWM) test was conducted on the separate groups of offsprings. Aerobic training was performed on a rodent treadmill with 0% slope for 8 weeks, 5 days/week, and 50 min/day. Unlike control animals, VPA-exposed female offspring had a better performance than VPA-exposed male offspring in MWM acquisition. In the case of MWM reference memory, we did not observe a sex difference between VPA-exposed male and VPA-exposed female offspring. Both IT and CT exercises in both control and VPA-exposed male rats significantly improved MWM acquisition. Moreover, both IT and CT exercises significantly improved MWM acquisition in control female rats. In addition, IT exercise (but not CT) significantly improved MWM acquisition in VPA-exposed female offsprings. Both IT and CT exercises in VPA-exposed that male and female offsprings improved the MWM reference memory. In conclusion, our observation demonstrated that prenatal exposure to VPA affects the spatial learning and memory in a sex dependent manner. We have shown that both IT and CT exercises are able to improve cognitive function in healthy and autistic rat offsprings.
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This article was submitted to Learning and Memory, a section of the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
Edited by: Lauren A. Fowler, University of South Carolina, United States
These authors have contributed equally to this work
Reviewed by: Yasushi Yabuki, Kumamoto University, Japan; James William Hendry Sonne, University of South Carolina, United States
ISSN:1662-5153
1662-5153
DOI:10.3389/fnbeh.2022.869792