Physical exercise during pregnancy rescues early-life behavioral impairments and dopamine D2 receptor in the offspring of a rat model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity and develops most frequently in childhood and adolescence. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) are the most used experimental model for the study of ADHD, when compared to Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). The SHR strain exhibits behavioral impairments that recapitulate phenotypes observed in individuals with ADHD. SHR further develop dopaminergic hypofunction in frontostriatal circuits and an imbalance in dopamine and norepinephrine systems. Maternal physical exercise (e.g. swimming) during pregnancy has been shown to promote angiogenesis, neurogenesis, learning, and memory in the offspring of control rats.