Fish oil and treadmill exercise have age-dependent effects on episodic memory and oxidative state of the hippocampus

There is a growing interest to better understand how lifestyle choices can improve memory functions. Treadmill exercise (Ex) and long-chain nâ 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) found in fish oil (Fo) are able to stimulate hippocampal antioxidant defenses and improve memory. The aim was to test whether (Fo) and (Ex) can improve rat's performance on memory tasks and optimize hippocampal antioxidant state in an age-dependent manner. Therefore, young and adult rats were exercised and received (Fo) during four weeks. The (Ex) was performed during 30min/day, with the speed gradually increasing from the first to the last week. Afterwards, episodic memory was measured by the recognition of object identity and spatial location. Hippocampal oxidative state was investigated with the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), carbonyls content, antioxidant enzymatic activity (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT)), and antioxidant non enzymatic activity (reduced glutathione, sulfhydryl content). The (Fo) adult rats were able to recognize objectâ s shape and placement, however (Fo) young rats had impaired spatial recognition (pThe accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author