It has been reported that continuous exercise and bright light exposure improved resistance to stress and reduced depression and anxiety, which were attributed to enhancing neurotransmitter GABA exocytosis and stimulating neurogenesis. In this study, the effects of treadmill exercise and bright light exposure on the expression of GABAAreceptor activity, calcineurin and calcineurin calcium signaling pathway-depended NFATc4, neurogenesis-related protein Cdk5 and specific regulator factor of Cdk in neurogenesis p35 in the hippocampus of rats were investigated by western blot assay. The expression of GABAAreceptor, Cdk5 and p35 significantly increased in the exercise+light group compared to the control group and the light group. The expression of KCC2 and NFATc4 significantly increased in the exercise+light group compared to all the other groups. And the expression of calcineurin significantly increased in the exercise+light group compared to the control group. The overall results showed that exercise and bright light stimulated neurogenesis of the hippocampus in rats and had positive effects on improving the brain neuronal function.
