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Abstract
Six weeks of voluntary wheel running exercise significantly improved ASD-like behaviors in rat models.
- Exercise restructured gut microbial communities and increased levels of short-chain fatty acids, particularly butyrate, in feces and plasma.
- Imbalances of neuroactive substances in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were normalized with exercise.
- Exercise reduced neuroinflammation, as indicated by decreased microglial and astrocytic reactivity and a shift toward an anti-inflammatory microglial state.
- Subdiaphragmatic vagotomy diminished the positive effects of exercise on neuroactive substances, neuroinflammation, and behavioral deficits.
- Intact vagal signaling may be essential for linking gut-derived signals with changes in brain function related to exercise benefits.
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