Novel shaking exercises for hippocampal and medial prefrontal cortex functioning maintain spatial working memory

The decline in spatial working memory is one of the earliest signs of normal brain aging. We developed a novel physical exercise method, termed the “shaking exercise,” to slow down this process. The experimental protocol included administering the shaking exercise for 8–32 weeks in male senescence-accelerated mouse prone 10 (SAMP-10). They were subjected to the T-maze test, followed by immunohistochemical analysis, to assess the influence of the shaking exercise on the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (CHRM1) and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptor (AMPAR) of the dorsal hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (dHC-mPFC). The T-maze test demonstrated that the shaking group had less hesitation in the face of selecting direction at week 24. In the immunohistochemical analysis, more CHRM1s were in the CA3 subregion and more AMPARs were in the subiculum. CHRM1s and AMPARs were maintained in the CA1 region and the mPFC. The CHRM1s seem to have a positive effect on the AMPAR in the dentate gyrus (DG) region and the CA3 region. In the CA1 region, CHRM1s were negatively correlated with AMPARs. In addition, high-density neurons were expressed in the shaking group in the upstream DG, the middle part and the distal part of CA3, the distal part of CA1, and the mPFC. Our results raise the possibility that maintenance of the spatial working memory effect observed with the shaking exercise is driven in part by the uneven affection of CHRM1s and AMPARs in the dHC-mPFC circuit system and significantly maintains the neuronal expression in the dHC-mPFC. [Display omitted] •The shaking exercise improved the density of certain neurons involved in memory.•Spatial working memory effect is driven by the uneven activation of CHRM1s and AMPARs.•The shaking exercise was used to keep the function of hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex.•Shaking exercise-treated SAMP-10 mice maintained spatial working memory longer.