Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common injury resulting from an impact to the head. At least 80% of all TBI cases are considered mild (mTBI), also commonly referred to as a concussion, and are more prevalent in infants and older adolescents. While aerobic exercise, such as running, is known to improve cardiovascular health and support cognitive recovery after mTBI, its specific effects on memory remain unclear. Using a weight-drop TBI mouse model, the team saw a beneficial effect of exercising in object recognition regardless of when the running protocol started, compared to TBI animals without exercise. In a Y-maze, animals in the TBI-only group show spatial deficits when compared to the control animals. These spatial memory deficits improved when animals went through the running protocol. Notably, initiating the running protocol earlier provided greater benefits. These results suggest that introducing aerobic exercise in rehabilitation plans can be beneficial after mTBI.
Original reference: Tseitlin, L. et al. Exp. Neurol. 384, 115069 (2025)
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