Malnutrition/exercise interaction in the rat mother-pup dyad: a behavioral and electrophysiological analysis.

Objectives: Maternal protein malnutrition alters brain functioning, impairing fetal development. Physical exercise during gestation benefits the fetal organism from maternal adaptive changes that may be neuroprotective. This study evaluated the effect of a low-protein diet associated with maternal voluntary physical activity (VPA) on rats' behavioral and brain electrophysiological parameters in the mother-pup dyad.

Treadmill Exercise Reverses the Adverse Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Behavior and Cortical Spreading Depression in Young Rats.

Intermittent fasting (IF) and physical exercise (PE) have beneficial psychological and physiological effects, improving memory and anxiety-like behavior. However, the impact of this combination on brain electrophysiological patterns is unknown. We aimed to evaluate the behavior and parameters of a brain excitability-related phenomenon named cortical spreading depression (CSD) in young rats (31-87 days of life) submitted to IF and treadmill PE for eight weeks.

Protective effect of exogenous melatonin on testicular histopathology and histomorphometry of adult rats with domperidone-induced hyperprolactinemia.

Hyperprolactinemia is a pathological condition resulting from increased prolactin that directly affects reproduction, as this condition inhibits the release of LH, FSH and gonadal steroidogenesis, bringing several negative clinical associations in reproduction. In contrast, melatonin (MEL) plays an important role in the regulation of steroidogenesis and modulates damages to the process of spermatogenesis. The objective was to analyze the protective effects of exogenous melatonin on the testis of hyperprolactinemic adult rats.

Maternal voluntary physical exercise in the adult rat: evidence of exercise-associated differences in maternal food intake, and in brain effects on the progeny.

Maternal physical activity may impact behavioral and electrophysiological aspects of brain function, with short- and long-term effects on pre- and postnatal neurodevelopment of the offspring. This study evaluated in the rat the effects of maternal voluntary physical activity (MVPA) on food intake and weight gain in the dams, as well as anxiety-like behavior, short-term memory and the brain excitability-related phenomenon known as cortical spreading depression (CSD) on the mother-pup dyad. Female Wistar rats (n=33) were individually housed in cages containing a running wheel for a 30-days adaptation period before mating.