Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39843934›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Treadmill exercise prevents stress-induced anxiety-like behaviors via enhancing the excitatory input from the primary motor cortex to the thalamocortical circuit.

Zhihua Luo, Junlin Chen, Yuchu Liu, Yelin Dai, Hui Gao, Borui Zhang, Haibin Ou, Kwok-Fai So, Ji-An Wei, Li Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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  5. Review
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  9. Neural Circuit Mapping and Neurotherapy-Based Strategies.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Zhihua Luo *Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Junlin Chen *Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Yuchu Liu *Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7911-4403
Yelin DaiKey Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Hui GaoKey Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Borui ZhangKey Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Haibin OuCollege of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Kwok-Fai SoKey Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. hrmaskf@hku.hk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4039-4246
Ji-An WeiKey Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. vejean@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9758-0982
Li ZhangKey Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. zhangli@jnu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1489-0879

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32070955
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Physical exercise effectively prevents anxiety disorders caused by environmental stress. The neural circuitry mechanism, however, remains incomplete. Here, we identified a previously unrecognized pathway originating from the primary motor cortex (M1) to medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) via the ventromedial thalamic (VM) nuclei in male mice. Besides anatomical evidence, both ex vivo and in vivo recordings showed enhanced excitability of M1-VM inputs to the prelimbic (PrL) region of mPFC upon 14-day treadmill exercise on a chronic restraint stress (CRS) mouse model. Further functional interrogations demonstrated that the activation of this neural circuit is both necessary and sufficient to direct the anxiolytic effect of exercise training in CRS mice. Our findings provide more insights into the neural circuits connecting motor and mental regions under exercise paradigm and implicate potential targets for neuromodulation in treating anxiety disorders.

Indexed as

AnxietyMotor CortexPhysical Conditioning, AnimalStress, PsychologicalThalamusAnimalsBehavior, AnimalDisease Models, AnimalMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLNeural PathwaysPrefrontal CortexRestraint, Physical

Identifiers

PMID39843934
PMCPMC11754434

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.