Maternal swimming during pregnancy enhances short-term memory and neurogenesis in the hippocampus of rat pups

In the present study, the effects of maternal swimming during pregnancy on the short-term memory ability, hippocampal neurogenesis, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA expression of rat pups were investigated. After confirming their pregnancy, the pregnant rats were divided into two groups: the control group and the swimming group. From the 15th day of pregnancy until delivery, pregnant rats were subcutaneously injected with 100 mg/kg of 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) once a day at 30 min before the starting of swimming exercise. Pregnant rats in the swimming group were forced to swim for 10 min once a day until delivery. On the 21 days after birth, the rat pups were trained in a step-down avoidance test. The latency time of the step-down avoidance task was determined on the 28 days after birth in order to evaluate the short-term memory ability of pups. On the 29 days after birth, the rat pups' brains were removed, and BrdU immunohistochemistry for the detection of neurogenesis and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the detection of BDNF mRNA expression were then performed. The rat pups born from the maternal rats that performed swimming during pregnancy showed significantly increased BDNF mRNA expression, enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis, and improved short-term memory capability. The present results have clearly shown that maternal swimming by rats during pregnancy enhances the memory of the rats' offspring by increasing neurogenesis. Our present study provides the evidence that maternal exercise during the gestational period may enhance the brain functions of the mothers' offspring.