Rodents housed with a running wheel can exhibit attenuated cocaine seeking and cocaine-induced psychomotor activation. However, the longevity of such a protection and the influence of the developmental stage during which exercise is displayed received little attention. Here, females and males C57BL/6J mice, aged 28 (adolescents) or 77 (adults) days were housed with (n = 56) or without (n = 28) a running wheel. After 3 weeks in these conditions, half of the exercised mice were deprived of their wheel (n = 28) whereas the other half and the sedentary mice were kept in their respective environments. After 3 additional weeks, mice were tested for initiation of psychomotor sensitization to 9 once-daily intraperitoneal injections of 8 mg/kg cocaine (following 2 drug-free sessions). The expression of sensitization was assessed on a single session 30 days after the last cocaine injection. Continuously exercised mice (wheel throughout experimentation) were less responsive to the initiation and the expression of cocaine effects, regardless of the gender and the developmental period during which exercise was introduced. A 3-week regimen of wheel-running exercise during adolescence (from 28 to 50 days of age) attenuated in later life the initiation and the expression of sensitization in females and its expression in males. In contrast, females and males previously exercised as adults (from 77 to 99 days of age) and their corresponding sedentary counterparts exhibited indiscernible levels of initiation and expression of sensitization. These results suggest that early-life period such as adolescence may be particularly sensitive to the long-term protection of exercise against cocaine vulnerability.

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Caring for a relative with a severe mental disorder puts family caregivers to a great risk of depression. While overall caregiving burden is a strong predictor of depression, the contribution of the various dimensions of burden to caregivers’ depression as well as their relationships with depressive symptoms has received little attention. 384 family caregivers completed a cross-sectional online survey including the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale, the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), and the Brief Experience of Caregiving Inventory (BECI), measuring caregiving burden and experience. We estimated the structure of the relationships between caregiving experiences (i.e., ZBI and BECI subscales) and CES-D symptoms using a network approach. Negative Emotion/Consequences, (lack of) Positive Personal Experience, and Stigma/Effects on Family were the most connected caregiving dimensions to depression. To untangle the role of the Negative Emotion/Consequences component (by far the most central node in estimated networks), a secondary analysis incorporating its composing items was estimated. Losing control over life, feeling strained around the relative and impaired self-perceived health emerged as central nodes. Interestingly, these caregiving-related dimensions or experiences were differentially connected to depressive symptoms. We discuss how these findings might help future research and inform tailored psychoeducational interventions for family caregivers of people with a severe mental disorder.