Differential effects of endurance and motor skill training on hippocampal BDNF levels and cognitive performance in male Wistar rats

Exercise is widely recognized as an important modulator of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cognitive function; however, whether different exercise modalities, including endurance and motor skill training, produce distinct effects on hippocampal BDNF levels and cognitive performance remains unclear. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of endurance training, rotarod training, and concurrent exercise on hippocampal BDNF levels and cognitive outcomes in male Wistar rats. Forty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to endurance training (ET), rotarod training (RT), endurance followed by rotarod training (ERT), rotarod followed by endurance training (RET), or control (C) groups. After eight weeks of training, cognitive performance was evaluated using the Morris Water Maze (MWM), Novel Object Recognition (NOR), and passive avoidance tests to assess spatial learning and memory, recognition memory, and aversive memory, respectively. Hippocampal BDNF concentrations were measured using ELISA. Endurance training significantly increased hippocampal BDNF levels compared with the control, rotarod training (RT), and endurance-plus-rotarod (ERT) groups (p < 0.05). In addition, the rotarod-plus-endurance (RET) group exhibited higher BDNF concentrations than the RT group (p < 0.05). In the Morris Water Maze, training produced significant improvements in spatial learning across acquisition trials, with the RET group showing lower overall escape latency than the RT and control groups during acquisition (p < 0.05). In contrast, no significant differences were observed among groups in Novel Object Recognition or passive avoidance performance, and probe trial post hoc comparisons did not reveal significant between-group differences (p > 0.05). The present findings suggest that changes in hippocampal BDNF concentrations did not consistently parallel behavioral outcomes, indicating that BDNF responses and cognitive outcomes may vary across different exercise modalities. Not applicable.