Effects of exercise on hippocampal plasticity

身体健康对健康的生活方式至关重要。除了有据可查的对心血管的好处外，运动还可以在衰老过程中保持大脑结构并促进再生。大脑中的这些结构性适应可以促进更好的认知功能，如学习和记忆。到目前为止，运动被认为可以显著增加大脑特定部分--海马体中新生神经元的增殖和发育。这些新的神经元可以参与学习和记忆。相比之下，运动诱导的大脑老化对与海马区新生神经元(即胆碱能轴突和血管)接触的细胞成分的影响在很大程度上仍不清楚。在研究大脑中这种结构组织及其对运动的反应时，一个主要的挑战是难以将大脑中存在的细胞成像为3维图像。目前的项目将评估老化大脑中运动对海马区胆碱能突起(即轴突)、新生细胞和血管的形态和相互作用的影响。为了做到这一点，我们将使用新的方法，允许以高分辨率和3D原位可视化特定的细胞组件。在功能水平上，将使用运动、学习和记忆测试来评估动物的表现。我们还将解决结构和功能变化之间可能的相关性，以应对衰老和运动。在Stefanovic博士和McLaurin博士的合作下，我们的研究团队处于独特的地位，可以为海马体形态和功能的调节带来更多的知识。

Physical fitness is critical for a healthy lifestyle. In addition to the well-documented cardiovascular benefits, exercise can maintain brain structure and promote regeneration during the aging process. These structural adaptations in the brain can contribute to better cognitive functions, such as learning and memory. To date, exercise is recognized to significantly increase the proliferation and development of newborn neurons in a specific part of the brain, the hippocampus. These new neurons can be involved in learning and memory. In contrast, the impact of exercise-induced plasticity in the aging brain on cellular components in contact with newborn neurons (i.e. cholinergic axons and blood vessels) in the hippocampus remains largely unknown. A main challenge in studying this type of structural organization and its response to exercise in the brain is the difficulty to image cells present in the brain in 3-dimensions. The current project will evaluate the effects of exercise in the aging brain on the morphology of, and interactions between, cholinergic processes (i.e. axons), newborn cells and blood vessels in the hippocampus. To do this, we will use novel methods that allow the visualization of specific cellular components at high resolution and in 3D in situ. At the functional level, the performance of the animals will be evaluated using motor, learning and memory tests. We will also address a possible correlation between structural and functional changes in response to aging and exercise. In collaboration with Dr. Stefanovic and Dr. McLaurin, our research team is in a unique position to bring further knowledge to the modulation of hippocampal morphology and function.