The aim of the present experiments was to test the hypothesis that exercise facilitates memory establishment and promotes LTP in rats. Thus, exercise may increase synaptic plasticity and learning, as well as neurogenesis, but we have found no earlier reports in literature. At the cellular level, wheel running enhances the firing rate of hippocampal cells in a manner that correlates with the running velocity (Czurko et al., 1999). Furthermore, trophic factors, associated with progenitor cell survival and differentiation (Ray et al., 1997), alterations in synaptic strength (Schuman, 1999), long-term potentiation (LTP) (Patterson et al., 1992), and memory function (Fischer et al., 1987), are elevated after exercise (Neeper et al., 1995). Although it is not known whether running also affects learning, it has been shown that physical activity facilitates recovery from injury (Johansson and Ohlsson, 1997) and improves cognitive function (Fordyce and Wehner, 1993). Similarly, voluntary physical activity in a running wheel enhances the number of new hippocampal cells (Van Praag et al., 1999). In mice, neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus increases with exposure to an enriched environment, and it is associated with improved learning (Kempermann et al., 1997). In birds, food storage and retrieval experience correlate with changes in hippocampal size and neurogenesis (Clayton and Krebs, 1994). The functional significance of new cells in hippocampus is not clear. New neurons are added continuously to certain areas of the adult pain, such as the hippocampus and olfactory bulb (Gage et al., 1998). KEY WORDS: Exercise, memory, hippocampus, epinephrineĮxercise increases neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, which is important for memory function. In conclusion our findings suggest that the enhanced learning by exercise may be mediated through the activation of adrenoceptors in the hippocampus and epinephrine may play an important role in potentiation of learning. Furthermore, the levels of the epinephrine were significantly increased (p<0.05) in hippocampus of the exercised rats. Our results showed that physical activity produced a significant enhancement in spatial learning, with a decreased path length (p<0.05) and latency (p<0.05) to the platform in Morris water maze, without affecting the swim speed. The time to reach the platform (latency), the length of swim path, and the swim speed were used for the evaluation of spatial learning. min-1 for 10 days) and corresponding control rats went through spatial learning process on a Morris water maze for 8 days.The aim of the present study was to investigate effect of exercise on learning and memory, long-term potentiation and levels of epinephrine in the rat hippocampus.
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