The medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens mediate the motivation for voluntary wheel running in the rat.

Basso, Julia C.; Morrell, Joan I.

doi:10.1037/bne0000070

Cited by 43 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…The reinforcing effects of both drugs of abuse and exercise are dependent on activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system consisting of dopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and prefrontal cortex (52–54). Inactivation of this pathway decreases drug self-administration (e.g., 55), with recent findings demonstrating that such manipulations similarly disrupt wheel running in males and females (56). Several markers of mesolimbic dopaminergic signaling predict sensitivity to drug reinforcement (enhanced D1/reduced D2 signaling in NAc; 57), and recent findings indicate that such markers are also predictive of wheel running activity in males and females (excitatory/inhibitory dopamine mRNA expression in the NAc; 58).…”

Section: Overview Of Recent Findings In Male and Female Animalsmentioning

confidence: 68%

Exercise as a Prevention for Substance Use Disorder: a Review of Sex Differences and Neurobiological Mechanisms

et al. 2017

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Purpose of Review This report provides an update on clinical and preclinical findings for the efficacy of exercise to prevent substance use disorder with a focus on recent evidence for sex differences and neurobiological mechanisms. Recent Findings Exercise/physical activity is associated with decreased drug use in humans. Preclinical results further indicate that exercise decreases vulnerability to drug use and the development of features of substance use disorder, and suggest that females have an enhanced sensitivity to its reward-substitution effects. However, certain exercise conditions may sensitize the reward pathway and enhance vulnerability suggesting that parallel observations in humans (e.g., increased prescription opioid misuse and heroin use in high-school athletes) may be biologically-based. Summary Exercise is a promising prevention strategy for substance use disorder. Further work is needed to establish its efficacy as a sex-specific strategy using larger samples, and to understand the exercise conditions that induce beneficial versus risk-enhancing effects.

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Section: Overview Of Recent Findings In Male and Female Animalsmentioning

confidence: 68%

Exercise as a Prevention for Substance Use Disorder: a Review of Sex Differences and Neurobiological Mechanisms

et al. 2017

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“…The fact that these neurochemicals are related to cognition supports the hypothesis that transient increases in their concentrations underlie the observed exercise-induced cognitive enhancements. As a final point regarding the interaction between exercise and the prefrontal cortex, recent evidence indicates that the medial prefrontal cortex is involved in regulating the motivated behavior of wheel running in rodents (Basso & Morrell, 2015). Here, we see an example where acute exercise also alters the cognitive functioning of the prefrontal cortex.…”

Section: Acute Exercise Does Not Improve Hippocampal Functioningmentioning

confidence: 90%

Acute Exercise Improves Prefrontal Cortex but not Hippocampal Function in Healthy Adults

Basso

Shang

Elman

et al. 2015

J Int Neuropsychol Soc

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119

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The effects of acute aerobic exercise on cognitive functions in humans have been the subject of much investigation; however, these studies are limited by several factors, including a lack of randomized controlled designs, focus on only a single cognitive function, and testing during or shortly after exercise. Using a randomized controlled design, the present study asked how a single bout of aerobic exercise affects a range of frontal- and medial temporal lobe-dependent cognitive functions and how long these effects last. We randomly assigned 85 subjects to either a vigorous intensity acute aerobic exercise group or a video watching control group. All subjects completed a battery of cognitive tasks both before and 30, 60, 90, or 120 min after the intervention. This battery included the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised, the Modified Benton Visual Retention Test, the Stroop Color and Word Test, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, the Digit Span Test, the Trail Making Test, and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test. Based on these measures, composite scores were formed to independently assess prefrontal cortex- and hippocampal-dependent cognition. A three-way mixed Analysis of Variance was used to determine whether differences existed between groups in the change in cognitive function from pre- to post-intervention testing. Acute exercise improved prefrontal cortex- but not hippocampal-dependent functioning, with no differences found between delay groups. Vigorous acute aerobic exercise has beneficial effects on prefrontal cortex-dependent cognition and these effects can last for up to 2 hr after exercise.

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“…Voluntary wheel running has been proposed as a preclinical model of exercise motivation rather than of general locomotor activity based on a large body of evidence supporting the hypothesis that rodents engage in wheel running because it has positive salience for them (for review see [3,4]). Wheel running was indeed found to be reinforcing and rewarding and to activate brain rewards pathways.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wheel running was indeed found to be reinforcing and rewarding and to activate brain rewards pathways. For instance, rats lever-press for an opportunity to run [5], develop conditioned place preference to the context associated with running [3,5] and show a rebound response to forced abstinence [3]. Furthermore, the effects of voluntary wheel running on the brain mimic those of other natural rewards and drugs of abuse [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the D2 antagonist raclopride reduced voluntary wheel running in mice [22] suggesting that sustained stimulation of D2 receptors contributes to the motivation for exercise. In addition, the motivation for wheel running was found reduced by inactivation of the nucleus accumbens [3], a brain region where D3 receptors, which are less abundant than D2 receptors, are preferentially expressed [23]. Thus, to reduce motivation for wheel running, we used a pharmacological approach targeting exercise-induced activation of dopamine D2/D3 receptors with the antagonist sulpiride [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Corticosterone and dopamine D2/D3 receptors mediate the motivation for voluntary wheel running in C57BL/6J mice

Ebada

Kendall

Pardon

2016

Behavioural Brain Research

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Number of tables: 1Number of words in the abstract: 248Number of words in the manuscript (including tables and figure legends): 6,639Number of words in the introduction: 1,290Number of words in the discussion: 1,243 ABSTRACT Physical exercise can improve cognition but whether this is related to motivation levels is unknown. Voluntary wheel running is a rewarding activity proposed as a model of motivation to exercise. To question the potential effects of exercise motivation on subsequent behaviour, we used a pharmacological approach targeting some reward mechanisms. The stress hormone corticosterone has rewarding effects mediated by activation of low affinity glucocorticoid receptors (GR). To investigate whether corticosterone synthesis motivates exercise via activation of GRs and subsequently, impacts on behaviour, we treated C57BL/6J mice acutely with the inhibitor of corticosterone synthesis metyrapone (35 mg/kg) or repeatedly with the GR antagonist mifepristone (30 mg/kg) prior to 1-hour running wheel sessions. To investigate whether reducing motivation to exercise impacts on behaviour, we antagonised running-induced dopamine D2/D3 receptors activation with sulpiride (25 or 50 mg/kg) and assessed locomotor, anxiety-related and memory performance after 20 running sessions over 4 weeks. We found that corticosterone synthesis contributes to running levels, but the maintenance of running behaviour was not mediated by activation of GRs. Intermittent exercise was not associated with changes in behavioural or cognitive performance. The persistent reduction in exercise levels triggered by sulpiride also had limited impact on behavioural performance, although the level of performance for some behaviours was related to the level of exercise. Altogether, these findings indicate that corticosterone and dopamine D2/D3 receptor activation contribute to the motivation for wheel running, but suggest that motivation for exercise is not a sufficient factor to alter behaviour in healthy mice.

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The medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens mediate the motivation for voluntary wheel running in the rat.

Cited by 43 publications

References 89 publications

Exercise as a Prevention for Substance Use Disorder: a Review of Sex Differences and Neurobiological Mechanisms

Exercise as a Prevention for Substance Use Disorder: a Review of Sex Differences and Neurobiological Mechanisms

Acute Exercise Improves Prefrontal Cortex but not Hippocampal Function in Healthy Adults

Corticosterone and dopamine D2/D3 receptors mediate the motivation for voluntary wheel running in C57BL/6J mice

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