Journal article
The influence of sex on activity in voluntary wheel running, forced treadmill running, and open field testing in mice
Physiological reports, Vol.13(4), p.e70246
02/2025
DOI: 10.14814/phy2.70246
PMCID: PMC11845322
PMID: 39985141
Appears in UI Libraries Support Open Access
Abstract
Physical activity is commonly used for both measuring and treating dysfunction. While preclinical work has been historically biased towards males, the inclusion of both males and females is gaining popularity. With the increasing inclusion of both sexes, it is imperative to determine sex differences in common behavioral assays. This was a secondary analysis of healthy naïve mice to determine baseline sex differences in three activity assays: voluntary wheel running (32 mice), forced treadmill running (178 mice), and open field (88 mice). In voluntary wheel running, females showed greater distance run, running time, bout duration, and speed, but no difference in total bouts. In forced treadmill running, females showed greater time to exhaustion, but no difference in maximum speed attained. In open field, males showed greater active time but no difference in distance and speed over 30 min; however, male mice showed a downward trajectory in distance and speed over the final 20 min of testing, whereas females did not. These data suggest that male mice demonstrate comparable activity intensity to female mice but do not match females' duration of activity, especially for volitional tasks. Researchers utilizing these assays should account for sex differences as they could mask true findings in an experiment.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The influence of sex on activity in voluntary wheel running, forced treadmill running, and open field testing in mice
- Creators
- Adam J Janowski - University of IowaGiovanni Berardi - University of IowaKazuhiro Hayashi - University of IowaAshley N Plumb - University of IowaJoe B Lesnak - University of IowaTahsin Khataei - University of IowaBen Martin - University of IowaChristopher J Benson - Iowa City VA Health Care SystemKathleen A Sluka - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Physiological reports, Vol.13(4), p.e70246
- DOI
- 10.14814/phy2.70246
- PMID
- 39985141
- PMCID
- PMC11845322
- NLM abbreviation
- Physiol Rep
- ISSN
- 2051-817X
- eISSN
- 2051-817X
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Grant note
- R01AR073187 / NIH HHS 5I01BX000776 / US Department of Veterans Affairs PODS I & II / Foundation for Physical Therapy (FPT)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/2025
- Academic Unit
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Cardiovascular Medicine; Nursing; Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science; Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center; Neuroscience and Pharmacology; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984790990102771
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