Research Paper Volume 11, Issue 1 pp 174—184

Figure 1. Exercise actions in anxiety-like behavior and resilience to stress in middle-aged female mice at peri-menopause. (A) Over 60% of middle age female mice were in constant estrous. E2 levels were significantly decreased in middle-age females as compared to young females. ***p<0.001 vs young (n=8-9). (B) Middle-aged female mice (9 months old) showed reduced immobility time in the forced swim test compared to young females (2 months old), indicating a lower “depressive-like” state (n=17 per group). (C) Anxiety-like levels measured in the elevated plus maze showed a profound anxiogenic effect of exercise in middle-aged female mice as compared to young mice (n= 5-10). Values of young females were taken from reference 7. (D) Exercise does not modify resilience to stress (measured by the tail suspension test delivered after the forced swim test) in middle-aged females (n=5-6). Exe: exercised mice; Sed: sedentary mice (in this and following figures).