Effects of physical exercise and social isolation on anxiety-related behaviors in two inbred rat strains

•Physical exercise on a treadmill reduced anxiety-like behavior.•Spontaneous activity levels are genotype-dependent.•Benefits of physical exercise depend on the type of exercise performed. We investigated the effects of physical exercise (PE) on locomotor activity and anxiety-like behavior in Lewis...

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Published in:	Behavioural processes Vol. 142; pp. 70 - 78
Main Authors:	Mazur, F.G., Oliveira, L.F.G., Cunha, M.P., Rodrigues, A.L.S., Pértile, R.A.N., Vendruscolo, L.F., Izídio, G.S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-09-2017 Elsevier Science Ltd
Subjects:	Aggression - physiology Aggression - psychology Animal behavior Animals Anxiety Anxiety - physiopathology Anxiety - psychology Behavior, Animal - physiology Elevated plus-maze Exercise Genotypes Inbreeding Locomotion Locomotor activity Male Motor Activity - physiology Open field Physical Conditioning, Animal - physiology Physical Conditioning, Animal - psychology Physical training Rats Rats, Inbred Lew Rats, Inbred SHR Rats, Inbred Strains Rodents Running wheels Social interactions Social Isolation Strains (organisms) Treadmill Treadmill Elevated plus-maze Open field Running wheels
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Summary:	•Physical exercise on a treadmill reduced anxiety-like behavior.•Spontaneous activity levels are genotype-dependent.•Benefits of physical exercise depend on the type of exercise performed. We investigated the effects of physical exercise (PE) on locomotor activity and anxiety-like behavior in Lewis (LEW) and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) male rats. Rats received either four weeks of forced training, 5days/week, on a treadmill (experiment 1) or were given 21days of free access to running wheels (experiment 2). We also tested the effects of social isolation (SI) (seven days of isolation − experiment 3) on behavior. In experiment 1, 20% of LEW rats and 63% of SHR rats completed the training protocol. PE significantly increased central and peripheral locomotion in the open field (OF) and entries into the open arms in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) in both strains. In experiment 2, the distance traveled by SHR rats on running wheels was significantly higher compared with LEW rats. PE on running wheels also increased the time spent in the center of the OF in SHR rats only. In experiment 3, SI decreased central and peripheral locomotion in the OF in both strains. In summary, forced PE on a treadmill reduced anxiety-like behavior and increased locomotion in male rats of both strains, whereas voluntary PE on running wheels decreased anxiety-like behavior in SHR rats only. SI decreased locomotion in both strains in the OF. This study suggests that spontaneous activity levels are genotype-dependent and the effects of PE depend on the type of exercise performed.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0376-6357 1872-8308
DOI:	10.1016/j.beproc.2017.06.001