PMID- 17553014 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20070815 LR - 20200319 IS - 0953-816X (Print) IS - 0953-816X (Linking) VI - 25 IP - 11 DP - 2007 Jun TI - Endurance exercise facilitates relearning of forelimb motor skill after focal ischemia. PG - 3453-60 AB - Endurance exercise (i.e. running), by up-regulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and other modulators of synaptic plasticity, improves attention and learning, both critical components of stroke rehabilitation. We hypothesized that, following middle cerebral artery occlusion in male Sprague-Dawley rats, endurance exercise would act synergistically with a challenging skilled forelimb task to facilitate motor recovery. Animals were randomly assigned to one of four rehabilitation conditions: no rehabilitation, running only, reach training only, and reach training preceded by running (run/reach training) for 5 weeks beginning 5 days after stroke. The behavioral outcome, morphological change and mRNA expression of proteins implicated in neuroplasticity (BDNF, synapsin I and microtubule-associated protein 2) were compared. Endurance exercise on a motorized running wheel, prior to reach training, enhanced recovery of skilled reaching ability but did not transfer to gross motor skills such as postural support (forelimb asymmetry test) and gait (ladder rung walking test). Microtubule-associated protein 2 staining density in the run/reach group was slightly enhanced in the contralateral motor cortex compared with the contralateral sensory and ipsilateral cingulate cortices, suggesting that running preceding reach training may have resulted in more dendritic branching within the motor cortex in this group. No significant differences in mRNA levels were detected among the training paradigms; however, there was a trend toward greater BDNF and synapsin I mRNA in the reaching groups. These findings suggest that exercise facilitates learning of subsequent challenging reaching tasks after stroke, which has the potential to optimize outcomes in patients with stroke. FAU - Ploughman, Michelle AU - Ploughman M AD - Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John's, NL, Canada A1B 3V6. FAU - Attwood, Zachary AU - Attwood Z FAU - White, Nicole AU - White N FAU - Dore, Jules J E AU - Dore JJ FAU - Corbett, Dale AU - Corbett D LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - France TA - Eur J Neurosci JT - The European journal of neuroscience JID - 8918110 RN - 0 (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) RN - 0 (MAP2 protein, rat) RN - 0 (Microtubule-Associated Proteins) RN - 0 (Synapsins) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Behavior, Animal MH - Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/genetics/metabolism MH - Disease Models, Animal MH - Forelimb/*physiopathology MH - Functional Laterality MH - Gene Expression Regulation/physiology MH - Ischemia/pathology/physiopathology/*rehabilitation MH - Male MH - Microtubule-Associated Proteins/genetics/metabolism MH - Motor Skills/*physiology MH - Physical Conditioning, Animal/*methods MH - Rats MH - Rats, Sprague-Dawley MH - Recovery of Function MH - Synapsins/genetics/metabolism MH - Time Factors EDAT- 2007/06/08 09:00 MHDA- 2007/08/19 09:00 CRDT- 2007/06/08 09:00 PHST- 2007/06/08 09:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2007/08/19 09:00 [medline] PHST- 2007/06/08 09:00 [entrez] AID - EJN5591 [pii] AID - 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2007.05591.x [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Eur J Neurosci. 2007 Jun;25(11):3453-60. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2007.05591.x.