Functional Role of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis as a Therapeutic Strategy for Mental Disorders

Table 6

Select animal studies investigating the effect of exercise on adult hippocampal neurogenesis.

Species	Type of exercise	Experimental paradigm	Effect on neurogenesis	Effects on behavior	References
C57BL/6 mouse	Learners: 2 trials of Morris water maze training per day over 30 days. (with platform).; Swimmers: 2 trials of morris water maze training per day over 30 days (without platform).; Runners: 1 running wheel for 3-4 mice in rat cage.	Proliferation: BrdU (12 × 50 mg/kg, ip) daily for 12 days, then 24-hour pulsing chase.; Survival: BrdU (12 × 50 mg/kg, ip) daily for 12 days, then 40-week pulsing chase.	Learners: decreased cell proliferation and survival of newly generated neurons.; Swimmers: decreased cell proliferation and survival of newly generated neurons; Runners: increased cell proliferation and survival of newly generated neurons.	NS	[53]
C57BL/6 mouse	Voluntary running.	MRI scan at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6.; Survival: BrdU (7 × 60 mg/kg, ip) during second week of experiment, then 4-weeks pulsing chase.	Exercise: (i) increased cerebral blood volume specifically at dentate gyrus.; (ii) increased neuronal maturation.	NS	[54]
Hes5::GFP mouse	Voluntary running.	BrdU (50 mg/kg, ip) either once or 3 consecutive times (2-hour interval); then 2 hour or 5-day pulsing chase.	Exercise activated QNPs in dentate gyrus.	NS	[55]
C57/BL6 mouse	Voluntary running.	Spatial pattern separation.; BrdU (5 × 50 mg/kg, ip) daily for 5 days, then 10-week pulsing chase.	Exercise increased neuronal maturation.	Exercise increased spatial pattern separation.	[56]
C57/BL6 mouse	Voluntary running.	Spatial learning: Morris water maze task day 35–39.; Proliferation: BrdU (7 × 50 mg/kg, ip) daily for 7 days, then 24-hour pulsing chase.; Neuronal morphology analysis: 4-week dpi GFP retrovirus.; Blood vessel size analysis: Lectin staining	Proliferation: increased proliferation in both young and old mice.; Neuronal morphology analysis: increased dendritic length and branches in young runners.; increased blood vessel size in young runners only.	Exercise enhanced spatial learning in both young and old mice.	[57]