Influence of physical loading on behavioral reactions of rats in cerebral hypoperfusion

A number of clinical studies demonstrate that individual characteristics such as stress tolerance and cognitive ability can be considered not only as diagnostic variables but also as risk factors for severe cerebral hypoperfusion. The aim of the study was to identify the typological features of the effect of physical activity on the behavioral reactions of rats during cerebral hypoperfusion. Material and methods. Cerebral hypoperfusion was modeled by bilateral carotid artery ligation. The study involved 280 rats, divided into equal subgroups, according to sex, stress tolerance and learning capacity. Of these, 112 animals were subjected to daily short-term swimming as a rehabilitation model. Before the simulation, and at 6, 8, 14, 21, 28, 35, 60 and 90 days postoperatively, the animals were tested using a Morris water maze and an “open field” test. Results and discussion. The dynamics of stress resistance and learning ability are related to the periodicity of inflammatory, necrotic, circulatory and reparative remodeling in the model used. After 2-3 months of study, cerebral hypoperfusion causes stabilization of indices characterizing stress resistance and cognitive functions below control values. A decrease in stress resistance begins earlier from day 6 of the study, while the index characterizing cognitive functions first decreases significantly after 3 weeks of study. Factors reducing the damaging effects of cerebral hypoperfusion were female gender, high baseline stress tolerance and learning ability. When assessing learning ability under physical load, animals with high baseline cognitive development showed earlier recovery dynamics during urgent adaptation and a significant increase during long-term adaptation.