Abstract Aim:

Animal disease model studies are widely used to show the effectiveness of physical exercise to improve cognitive function. Thus far, few studies are investigating the effects of exercise training on memory performance in fructose feed animals.

Method:

The present study investigated the effects of physical exercise protocol carried out with three weekly sessions, on the short and long-term memory performance of animals fed with fructose. Male Wistar rats were divided into sedentary (SD); sedentary+fructose (SDF); trained (TR); trained+fructose (TRF). Treadmill running sessions consisted of a five-minute warm-up at 20% maximum speed (MS) followed by 40 minutes at 40% MS and a 5-minute cool-down at 20% MS. Sessions were carried out three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) for six weeks. Object Recognition Test was used to evaluate short and long-term memory.

Results:

The access to fructose altered food intake and drinking volume, as fructose-fed animals had lower food intake (SDF: -27% and TRF: -24%) and higher drinking volume (SDF: +49% and TRF: +45%) than an animal which drank water. Trained groups had lower epididymal fat pad compared to their sedentary counterparts (TR: -30% and TRF: -11%). In addition, TR and TRF had an improvement in glucose tolerance. Regarding memory performance, neither fructose intake nor exercise training influenced short-term memory. On the other hand, long-term memory was enhanced by exercise training. An improvement of about 39% was observed for TR and the largest effect was seen for TRF, which improved long-term memory in 76%.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, moderate-intensity exercise training, carried out three days a week, for six weeks was effective to improve long-term memory in fructose-fed rats. This result was related neither to the visceral fat amount nor to the glucose metabolism. Further studies should considerer the investigation regarding cerebral areas, associated with memory that might be adapted facing physical exercise.