The compensatory effect of regular exercise on long-term memory impairment in sleep deprived female rats

• Sleep deprivation (SD) impaired spatial long term memory in female rats.
• Regardless of reproductive status, SD impaired the cognitive function.
• Physical exercise improved the SD-induced cognitive impairment in female rats.
• Physical exercise had neuroprotective role in sleep deprived female rats.

Previous studies have been shown that exercise can improve short-term spatial learning, memory and synaptic plasticity impairments in sleep deprived female rats. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of treadmill exercise on sleep deprivation (SD) induced impairment in hippocampal dependent long-term memory in female rats. Intact and ovariectomized female rats were used in the current study. Exercise protocol was 4 weeks treadmill running. Twenty four hour SD was induced by using multiple platform apparatus after learning phase. Spatial learning and long-term memory was examined by using the Morris Water Maze (MWM) test. Our results indicated that sleep deprivation impaired long term memory in the intact and ovariectomized female rats, regardless of reproductive status (p < 0.05) and treadmill exercise compensated this impairment (p < 0.05). In conclusion the results of the current study confirmed the negative effect of SD on cognitive functions and regular exercise seems to protect rats from these factors, however more investigations need to be done.