Location

Jereld R. Nicholson Library: Grand Avenue

Subject Area

Health, Human Performance and Athletics

Description

Regular physical activity (PA) positively impacts physical and mental health outcomes. However, there is a reciprocal relationship wherein stress significantly reduces healthy levels of routine PA. We showed previously that voluntary running behavior of male mice essentially ceases following exposure to a resident-intruder social stress. Here we examined female mice. Female mice were divided into four groups (n=8/group): sedentary/control, voluntary running/control, sedentary/stress, and voluntary running/stress. Running groups were given unlimited access to a running wheel in the home cage for 9 weeks with a nightly average of 6.86 ± 2.5 km. During the ninth week, stress groups were exposed to a single, 6-hour bout of a female-specific, resident-intruder social stress. Plasma corticosterone significantly increased following stress (34.56 ± 13 ng/ml basal to 330.5 ± 95 ng/ml immediately post-stress). Nightly running dropped significantly to 1.72 ± 0.9 km. Unlike male mice where running levels were slow to recover, voluntary running in these female mice returned to normal levels by the second night (5.01 ± 2.5 km). This study shows the sensitivity of habitual running behavior to stress exposure and suggests the utility of this mouse model in exploring the means by which stress negatively impacts routine PA.

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The Effects of Social Stress on Voluntary Running Behavior in Female Mice

Jereld R. Nicholson Library: Grand Avenue

Regular physical activity (PA) positively impacts physical and mental health outcomes. However, there is a reciprocal relationship wherein stress significantly reduces healthy levels of routine PA. We showed previously that voluntary running behavior of male mice essentially ceases following exposure to a resident-intruder social stress. Here we examined female mice. Female mice were divided into four groups (n=8/group): sedentary/control, voluntary running/control, sedentary/stress, and voluntary running/stress. Running groups were given unlimited access to a running wheel in the home cage for 9 weeks with a nightly average of 6.86 ± 2.5 km. During the ninth week, stress groups were exposed to a single, 6-hour bout of a female-specific, resident-intruder social stress. Plasma corticosterone significantly increased following stress (34.56 ± 13 ng/ml basal to 330.5 ± 95 ng/ml immediately post-stress). Nightly running dropped significantly to 1.72 ± 0.9 km. Unlike male mice where running levels were slow to recover, voluntary running in these female mice returned to normal levels by the second night (5.01 ± 2.5 km). This study shows the sensitivity of habitual running behavior to stress exposure and suggests the utility of this mouse model in exploring the means by which stress negatively impacts routine PA.