ArticlePhysiology & behavior2024
Adolescent treadmill exercise enhances hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and improves cognition in autism-modeled rats.
Article in Physiology & behavior, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Prenatal valproic acid exposure in rodent models of autism: a systematic review of neurobehavioral physiological alterations.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Exercise dose architecture as a precision-informed developmental framework in autism spectrum disorder: a narrative review of mechanisms, sex- and development-related heterogeneity, and clinical translation.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of exercise on brain-derived neurotrophic factors in middle-aged and older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Comparative effectiveness of physical exercise interventions on sociability and communication in children and adolescents with autism: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Investigating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) changes in three main rodent models of autism spectrum disorder (ASD): a systematic review.Neurotoxicity research · 2026Review
- Irisin-Treg crosstalk: unveiling a mechanism in neural cognitive regulation.Annals of medicine · 2025Review
- Developmental Disturbances in Animal Models of Autism Spectrum Disorder.Developmental neurobiology · 2025Review
- Targeting gut microbiota as a therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative diseases.Neuroprotection (Chichester, England) · 2025Article
- Progress in exercise interventions for autism spectrum disorder: exploring underlying mechanisms.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by repetitive behaviors and altered communication abilities. Exercise is a low-cost intervention that could improve cognitive function and improve brain plasticity mechanisms. Here, the valproic acid (VPA) model was utilized to induce ASD-like phenotypes in rodents. Animals were exercised on a treadmill and performance was evaluated on a cognitive flexibility task. Biomarkers related to exercise and plasticity regulation were quantified from the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and skeletal muscle. Exercised VPA animals had higher levels of hippocampal BDNF compared to sedentary VPA animals and upregulated antioxidant enzyme expression in skeletal muscle. Cognitive improvements were demonstrated in both sexes, but in different domains of cognitive flexibility. This research demonstrates the benefits of exercise and provides evidence that molecular responses to exercise occur in both the central nervous system and in the periphery. These results suggest that improving regulation of BDNF via exercise, even at low intensity, could provide better synaptic regulation and cognitive benefits for individuals with ASD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.