Various sleep disorders have deleterious effects on mental and cognitive performance. Exercise, as an alternative therapeutic strategy, exerts beneficial impacts on human health. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of 4 weeks treadmill exercise (4W-TE) on anxiety-like behavior and cognitive performance in mice exposed to 2 months REM sleep deprivation (2M-SD) (20 h per day). Behavioral performance of mice in elevated plus maze test (EPM), open field test (OFT), Y maze test (YM) and Morris water maze test (MWM) was recorded and analyzed 28 h after the last day of sleep deprivation. After behavioral tests, various neurotransmitters including norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in mouse hippocampus were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography. The hippocampal levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were further detected using ELISA. Behavioral data indicated that 2M-SD exposure induced anxiety-like behaviors and cognitive impairment, as evidenced by the decreased open-arm entries in EPM, reduced central area travels in OFT, declined spontaneous alteration in YM and prolonged escaping latency in MWM. In addition, 2M-SD exposure increased NE and DA, decreased 5-HT and GABA, and reduced IGF-1 and BDNF levels in mouse hippocampus. Interestingly, all these behavioral, neurochemical and neurobiological changes can be ameliorated by 4W-TE training. In summary, these findings confirm the beneficial impacts of exercise on health and provide further experimental evidence for future application of exercise as an alternative therapy against the mental and cognitive problems in patients with sleep disorders.

各种睡眠障碍对精神和认知表现有有害影响。运动作为一种替代治疗策略，对人类健康产生有益影响。在本研究中，我们旨在评估 4 周跑步机运动 (4W-TE) 对暴露于 2 个月快速眼动睡眠剥夺 (2M-SD)（每天 20 小时）的小鼠的焦虑样行为和认知表现的影响。在睡眠剥夺的最后一天后 28 小时记录和分析小鼠在高架十字迷宫试验 (EPM)、旷场试验 (OFT)、Y 迷宫试验 (YM) 和莫里斯水迷宫试验 (MWM) 中的行为表现。在行为测试后，使用高效液相色谱法对小鼠海马中的各种神经递质，包括去甲肾上腺素 (NE)、多巴胺 (DA)、血清素 (5-HT) 和 γ-氨基丁酸 (GABA) 进行定量。使用ELISA进一步检测胰岛素样生长因子-1（IGF-1）和脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）的海马水平。行为数据表明，2M-SD 暴露会诱发焦虑样行为和认知障碍，这可以通过 EPM 中的开放臂进入减少、OFT 中的中心区域旅行减少、YM 的自发改变减少和 MWM 的逃逸潜伏期延长来证明。此外，2M-SD 暴露增加了 NE 和 DA，减少了 5-HT 和 GABA，并降低了小鼠海马中的 IGF-1 和 BDNF 水平。有趣的是，所有这些行为、神经化学和神经生物学变化都可以通过 4W-TE 训练得到改善。总之，