HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free All Versions of this Article: 98/2/572    most recent 00184.2004v1 Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (7) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Beatty, J. A. Articles by Waldrop, T. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Beatty, J. A. Articles by Waldrop, T. G.

Physical exercise decreases neuronal activity in the posterior hypothalamic area of spontaneously hypertensive rats

Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois

Submitted 19 February 2004 ; accepted in final form 1 October 2004

Recently, physical exercise has been shown to significantly alter neurochemistry and neuronal function and to increase neurogenesis in discrete brain regions. Although we have documented that physical exercise leads to molecular changes in the posterior hypothalamic area (PHA), the impact on neuronal activity is unknown. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether neuronal activity in the PHA is altered by physical exercise. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were allowed free access to running wheels for a period of 10 wk (exercised group) or no wheel access at all (nonexercised group). Single-unit extracellular recordings were made in anesthetized in vivo whole animal preparations or in vitro brain slice preparations. The spontaneous firing rates of PHA neurons in exercised SHR in vivo were significantly lower (8.5 ± 1.6 Hz, n = 31 neurons) compared with that of nonexercised SHR in vivo (13.7 ± 1.8 Hz, n = 38 neurons; P < 0.05). In addition, PHA neurons that possessed a cardiac-related rhythm in exercised SHR fired significantly lower (6.0 ± 1.8 Hz, n = 11 neurons) compared with nonexercised SHR (12.1 ± 2.4 Hz, n = 18 neurons; P < 0.05). Similarly, the spontaneous in vitro firing rates of PHA neurons from exercised SHR were significantly lower (3.5 ± 0.3 Hz, n = 67 neurons) compared with those of nonexercised SHR (5.6 ± 0.5 Hz, n = 58 neurons; P < 0.001). Both the in vivo and in vitro findings support the hypothesis that physical exercise can lower spontaneous activity of neurons in a cardiovascular regulatory region of the brain. Thus physical exercise may alter central neural control of cardiovascular function by inducing lasting changes in neuronal activity.

hypertension; electrophysiology; plasticity

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. J. Mueller Exercise training attenuates increases in lumbar sympathetic nerve activity produced by stimulation of the rostral ventrolateral medulla J Appl Physiol, February 1, 2007; 102(2): 803 - 813. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. G. Waldrop, G. A. Iwamoto, and P. Haouzi Point:Counterpoint: Supraspinal locomotor centers do/do not contribute significantly to the hyperpnea of dynamic exercise J Appl Physiol, March 1, 2006; 100(3): 1077 - 1083. [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. J. Nelson, J. M. Juraska, T. I. Musch, and G. A. Iwamoto Neuroplastic adaptations to exercise: neuronal remodeling in cardiorespiratory and locomotor areas J Appl Physiol, December 1, 2005; 99(6): 2312 - 2322. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]