Voluntary running-wheel exercise decreases the threshold for rewarding intracranial self-stimulation

Michael J Morris; Elisa S Na; Alan Kim Johnson

doi:10.1037/a0029149

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Voluntary running-wheel exercise decreases the threshold for rewarding intracranial self-stimulation

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Voluntary running-wheel exercise decreases the threshold for rewarding intracranial self-stimulation

Michael J Morris, Elisa S Na and Alan Kim Johnson

Behavioral neuroscience, Vol.126(4), pp.582-587

08/2012

DOI: 10.1037/a0029149

PMCID: PMC4433312

PMID: 22845707

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/4433312View

Open Access

Abstract

Physical exercise has mood-enhancing and antidepressant properties although the mechanisms underlying these effects are not known. The present experiment investigated the effects of prolonged access to a running wheel on electrical self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus (LHSS), a measure of hedonic state, in rats. Rats with continuous voluntary access to a running wheel for either 2 or 5 weeks exhibited dramatic leftward shifts in the effective current 50 (ECu50; current value that supports half of maximum responding) of their LHSS current-response functions compared to their baselines, indicating a decrease in reward threshold, whereas control rats current-response functions after 2 or 5 weeks were not significantly different from baseline. An inverse correlation existed between the change in ECu50 from baseline and the amount an animal had run in the day prior to LHSS testing, indicating that animals that exhibited higher levels of running showed a more robust decrease in LHSS threshold. We conclude that long-term voluntary exercise increases sensitivity to rewarding stimuli, which may contribute to its antidepressant properties.

Body Weight

Self Stimulation

Conditioning, Operant - physiology

Rats

Male

Random Allocation

Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Behavior, Animal

Running - physiology

Animals

Analysis of Variance

Hypothalamic Area, Lateral - physiology

Reward

Electric Stimulation - methods

Physical Conditioning, Animal

Details

Title: Subtitle: Voluntary running-wheel exercise decreases the threshold for rewarding intracranial self-stimulation
Creators: Michael J Morris - Department of Psychology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242-1407, USA
Elisa S Na
Alan Kim Johnson
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Behavioral neuroscience, Vol.126(4), pp.582-587
DOI: 10.1037/a0029149
PMID: 22845707
PMCID: PMC4433312
NLM abbreviation: Behav Neurosci
ISSN: 0735-7044
eISSN: 1939-0084
Publisher: United States
Grant note: R01 DK066086 / NIDDK NIH HHS HL 098207 / NHLBI NIH HHS R01 MH080241 / NIMH NIH HHS R01 HL098207 / NHLBI NIH HHS HL 14388 / NHLBI NIH HHS P01 HL014388 / NHLBI NIH HHS MH 80241 / NIMH NIH HHS DK 66086 / NIDDK NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 08/2012
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Neuroscience and Pharmacology; Health, Sport, and Human Physiology
Record Identifier: 9984002329302771

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8 Times Cited - Web of Science