Objective:To discuss the effects of treadmill exercises on scores of neurological function,contents of 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT) and expressions of 5-HT1A receptor and synaptophysin in the hippocampus of rats after cerebral infarction. Methods:A to-tal of 60 rats were randomly divided into three groups:permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion(pMCAO) group(n=20),pMCAO and treadmill exercise(pMCAO+Ex) group(n=20) and sham-operated group(n=20). Middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) method was used to establish focal cerebral infarction model. Rats in pMCAO+Ex group underwent treadmill exercise on the 3rd d after model establishment for 16 d. Neurological function was evaluated using modified neurological severity scores(mNSS). HE stain-ing and nissel staining were used to observe neuron damages in CA2 region. High performance liquid chromatography-electrochemi-cal detection system was used to determine levels of 5-HT in ischemia hippocampus tissues. Protein levels of 5-HT1A receptor and synaptophysin were measured by Western blot and mRNA levels of 5-HT1A receptor were determined by reverse transcription- poly-merase chain reaction. Results:mNSS was lower in pMCAO+Ex group than in pMCAO group on the 19th d post MCAO(P<0.001). Both stainings showed that the morphologies of neurons in CA2 region were normal in sham-operated group and irregular in pMCAO group with parts of neurons being obviously damaged;after treadmill exercise,the damage was alleviated. Contents of 5-HT was higher in pMCAO+Ex group(14.5±1.71) ng/ml than in pMCAO group(7.13±0.71) ng/ml(P<0.001). Protein and mRNA expres-sions of 5-HT1A receptor and protein expressions of synaptophysin were upregulated after treadmill exercise compared with those in pMCAO group(P<0.05). Conclusions:Treadmill exercises could improve neurological function and increase contents of 5-HT and levels of 5-HT1A receptor in the hippocampus to improve synaptic plasticity.