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The role of serotonergic system in exercise‐facilitated passive avoidance task in rats
Author(s) -
Chen Hsiuning,
Lin LiChun,
Jen Chauying J.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a462-b
Subject(s) - serotonergic , serotonin transporter , serotonin , amygdala , prefrontal cortex , hippocampus , infralimbic cortex , neuroscience , 5 ht1a receptor , psychology , 5 ht receptor , agonist , medicine , endocrinology , receptor , cognition
It is known that amygdala and serotonin (5‐HT) system play crucial roles in regulating fear memory. Whether exercise can facilitate fear memory via serotonin system is still unknown. Therefore, we examined levels of 5‐HT and its metabolite (5‐HIAA), the protein expression of serotonin receptors (5‐HT 1A , 5‐HT 2A ) and 5‐HT transporter in related brain regions (amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex) after 4‐wk treadmill running in male Sprague‐Dawley rats. Our results demonstrated that 1) treadmill exercise enhanced passive avoidance learning performance 24h after passive avoidance training; (2) exercise decreased protein expression of 5‐HT 1A and 5‐HT 2A in the amygdala, but not in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. In contrast, the expression of 5‐HT transporter remained unaltered after exercise; (3) treadmill exercise decreased 5‐HT levels, measured by HPLC, in the hippocampus; (4) pretreatment of the selective 5‐HT 1A agonist (8‐OH‐DPAT) impaired passive avoidance performance and completely abolished exercise‐enhanced fear memory. Our results suggest that down‐regulation of 5‐HT 1A receptor may be involved in exercise‐enhanced fear memory.