Abstract: Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of spine loading on learning and memory of rats with chronic cerebral ischemia. Methods Twenty- seven healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (Sham group), vascular dementia model group (VD group) and spine loading treatment group (VD+L group). There were nine rats in each group. The common carotid artery was only isolated but not ligated in sham group. VD model was established by permanent occlusion of bilateral common carotid arteries in VD group. Spine loading was applied per day for 5 weeks after VD model was established in VD + L group. After loading treatment, Morris water maze was used to test the ability of learning and memory. HE staining and Nissl staining were used to observe the pathological changes of cerebral cortex and hippocampal tissues. The expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Results Compared with the VD group, the escape latency was significantly reduced, while the number of crossing platform and staying time were significantly increased in the VD + L group. After loading, the morphological structure and survival of neurons were significantly improved, and the number of hippocampal cells increased obviously. Loading also decreased the expression of GFAP in hippocampus and cortex. Conclusion Mechanical loading significantly improves the learning and memory impairment in rats with chronic cerebral ischemia and protects neurons after ischemia. The therapeutic effect may be related with the reduced pathological damage of hippocampus and cortical neurons and the inhibited activation of glial cells

Key words: brain ischemia, dementia, vascular, memory disorders, bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion, GFAP, mechanical loading