Moderate treadmill exercise prevents oxidative stress-induced anxiety-like behavior in rats

• Published in: Behavioural brain research 2010-04, Vol.208 (2), p.545-552
• Main Authors: Salim, Samina, Sarraj, Nada, Taneja, Manish, Saha, Kaustuv, Tejada-Simon, Maria Victoria, Chugh, Gaurav
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Ocular - drug effects; Adaptation, Ocular - physiology; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Antioxidants; Anxiety; Anxiety - etiology; Anxiety - pathology; Anxiety - prevention & control; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - metabolism; BSO; Buthionine Sulfoximine - pharmacology; Cognition; Cyclic N-Oxides - pharmacology; Dinoprost - analogs & derivatives; Dinoprost - metabolism; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Administration Schedule; Enzyme Inhibitors - pharmacology; Exercise Test - methods; Exploratory Behavior - drug effects; Exploratory Behavior - physiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glutathione - metabolism; Male; Malondialdehyde - metabolism; Neuroprotective Agents - pharmacology; Oxidative Stress; Physical Conditioning, Animal; Physical exercise; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Radioimmunoassay - methods; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Spin Labels; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0166-4328; 1872-7549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.12.039

Recent work has suggested correlation of oxidative stress with anxiety-like behavior. There also is evidence for anxiolytic effects of physical exercise. However, a direct role of oxidative stress in anxiety is not clear and a protective role of physical exercise in oxidative stress-mediated anxiety has never been addressed. In this study, we have utilized rats to test direct involvement of oxidative stress with anxiety-like behavior and have identified oxidative stress mechanisms likely involved in anxiolytic effects of physical exercise. Intraperitoneal injections at non-toxic dose of l-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO), an agent that increases oxidative stress markers, increased anxiety-like behavior of rats compared to vehicle-treated control rats. Prior 2 weeks treatment with the antioxidant, tempol attenuated BSO-induced anxiety-like behavior of rats suggesting a role of oxidative stress in this phenomenon. Moreover, moderate treadmill exercise prevented BSO-induced anxiety-like behavior of rats and also prevented BSO-mediated increase in oxidative stress markers in serum, urine and brain tissue homogenates from hippocampus, amygdala and locus coeruleus. Thus increasing oxidative stress increases anxiety-like behavior of rats. Moreover, antioxidant or treadmill exercise training both reduce oxidative stress in the rat brain regions implicated in anxiety response and prevent anxiety-like behavior of rats.