Rutgers University, Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
J Neurosci Methods. 2017 Oct 1;290:13-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.07.009. Epub 2017 Jul 15.
Though voluntary wheel running (VWR) has been used extensively to induce changes in both behavior and biology, little attention has been given to the way in which different variables influence VWR. This lack of understanding has led to an inability to utilize this behavior to its full potential, possibly blunting its effects on the endpoints of interest.
We tested how running experience, sex, gonadal hormones, and wheel apparatus influence VWR in a range of wheel access "doses".
VWR increases over several weeks, with females eventually running 1.5 times farther and faster than males. Limiting wheel access can be used as a tool to motivate subjects to run but restricts maximal running speeds attained by the rodents. Additionally, circulating gonadal hormones regulate wheel running behavior, but are not the sole basis of sex differences in running.
COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S): Limitations from previous studies include the predominate use of males, emphasis on distance run, variable amounts of wheel availability, variable light-dark cycles, and possible food and/or water deprivation. We designed a comprehensive set of experiments to address these inconsistencies, providing data regarding the "microfeatures" of running, including distance run, time spent running, running rate, bouting behavior, and daily running patterns.
By systematically altering wheel access, VWR behavior can be finely tuned - a feature that we hypothesize is due to its positive incentive salience. We demonstrate how to maximize VWR, which will allow investigators to optimize exercise-induced changes in their behavioral and/or biological endpoints of interest.
尽管自愿轮式跑步（VWR）已被广泛用于引起行为和生物学的变化，但很少有人关注不同变量如何影响 VWR。这种缺乏了解导致无法充分利用这种行为，可能会削弱其对感兴趣的终点的影响。
我们测试了跑步经验、性别、性腺激素和轮式仪器如何在一系列轮式访问“剂量”下影响 VWR。
VWR 在数周内增加，女性最终比男性跑的距离长 1.5 倍，速度快 1.5 倍。限制轮式访问可以作为一种工具来激励受试者跑步，但限制了啮齿动物达到的最大跑步速度。此外，循环性腺激素调节轮式跑步行为，但不是跑步性别差异的唯一基础。
以前研究的局限性包括主要使用雄性、强调跑步距离、轮式可用性的变化量、变化的明暗周期以及可能的食物和/或水剥夺。我们设计了一套全面的实验来解决这些不一致性，提供了有关跑步“微观特征”的数据，包括跑步距离、跑步时间、跑步速度、爆发行为和每日跑步模式。
通过系统地改变轮式访问，VWR 行为可以进行微调——我们假设这是由于其积极的激励显著性。我们展示了如何最大限度地提高 VWR，这将使研究人员能够优化他们感兴趣的行为和/或生物学终点的运动引起的变化。
