Voluntary wheel running delays brain atrophy in aged mice

BACKGROUND: Physical exercises have been shown to be a surprisingly effective strategy to take advantage of the brain’s natural capacity for plasticity, and prevent brain degeneration in mouse histological studies. In vivo magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) provides highly resolved anatomical images and allows quantitative assessment of brain atrophy in the aged mouse model. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate, through the effects of 10 weeks voluntary wheel running, the mouse’s brain atrophy. METHODS: Sixteen C57BL/6J mice, aged 21 months, were randomized to the exercise or sedentary group. Each mouse was scanned in a 7.0-T MRM scanner at two time points: 22 months old baseline and a follow-up three months later. Multi-atlas based brain segmentation approach was used to obtain volumes of 39 brain regions. RESULTS: The results showed that mice in the exercise group had less brain atrophy compared with the mice in the sedentary group. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide new insights into exercise induced brain plasticity in aged animals.