Table 3.

Summary of animal research focusing on neurotrophic factors.

No.	Strain	Sex	Age	Physical Activity	Stress Model	Main Outcome	Reference
1	C57BL/6	male	8 weeks	voluntary wheel running	acute restraint stress	elevated expression of BDNF transcripts in the hippocampus	[94]
2	C57BL/6	male and female	8–9 weeks	treadmill	forced swim and tail suspension	increased IGF-1 level in the hippocampus	[99]
3	C57BL/6J	male	2.5–3.5 months	voluntary wheel running	physical restraint	increased Adcy1 expression in the forebrain	[101]
4	Sprague–Dawley	male	7–8 weeks	treadmill	predator scent stress	increased expression of BDNF, NPY, and DOR signalling in the hippocampus	[95]
5	Sprague–Dawley	male	8 weeks	voluntary wheel running	depression	enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis; increased synaptic protein levels	[97]
6	Wistar	male and female	7–8 weeks	treadmill	posttraumatic stress disorder	increased BDNF level and apoptotic markers in the hippocampus	[102]

Adcy1—type 1 adenylyl cyclase; BDNF—brain-derived neurotrophic factor; DOR—delta opioid receptor; IGF-1—insulin-like growth factor 1; NPY—neuropeptide Y.