Influence of age and treadmill running on motor performance in rats

The influence of treadmill running on age-dependent changes of motor performance was investigated in differently old female Sprague-Dawley rats. Following 12 months of exercise training a test battery including gait analysis, spontaneous motor activity, and three more motor tasks of different complexity was performed. The influence of age on motor performance depended on the complexity of the motor requirement. Simple tests were less affected by age than more complex ones. Treadmill running induced positive effects on the age-dependent impairment of various motor functions in middle-aged (14-18 months old) and aged (23-27 months old) rats. The positive influence of exercise training is explained by benefits of endurance training to the cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and central nervous systems.