Research reportPrior regular exercise prevents synaptic plasticity impairment in sleep deprived female rats

•Sleep deprivation impaired induction of LTP in the hippocampus of female rats.•Maintenance of LTP was impaired in the hippocampus of sleep deprived female rats.•Prior exercise improved LTP impairments in the hippocampus of sleep deprived rats.

Previous studies have indicated that physical exercise plays a preventive role in synaptic plasticity deficits in the hippocampus of sleep-deprived male rats. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of treadmill running on early long term potentiation (E-LTP) at the Cornu Ammonis (CA1) area of the hippocampus in sleep-deprived female rats.Intact and ovariectomiezed (OVX) female Wistar rats were used in the present study. The exercise protocol was four weeks treadmill running and the multiple platform method was applied to induce 72 h sleep deprivation (SD). We examine the effect of exercise and/or SD on synaptic plasticity using in vivo extracellular recording in the CA1 area of the hippocampus. The field excitatory post-synaptic potential (fEPSP) slope was measured before and 2 h after high frequency stimulation (HFS) in the experimental groups.Field potential recording indicated that the induction and maintenance phase of E-LTP impaired in the sleep deprived animals compared to the other groups. After 72 h SD, E-LTP impairments were prevented by 4 weeks of regular treadmill exercise.In conclusion, the synaptic plasticity deficit in sleep-deprived female rats was improved by regular physical exercise. Further studies are suggested to evaluate the possible underlying mechanisms.