Abstract
BackgroundRats lever-press for access to running wheels suggesting that wheel running by itself is reinforcing. Furthermore, pairings of an episode of wheel running and subsequent confinement in a specific environment can establish a conditioned place preference (CPP). This finding implies that the reinforcing effects of wheel running outlast the actual occurrence of physical activity, a phenomenon referred to as aftereffect of wheel running. Aftereffect-induced CPP involves Pavlovian conditioning, i.e. repeated pairings of the aftereffect of wheel running with a specific environment creates a learned association between aftereffect and environment and, in turn, a preference for that environment. Given the involvement of dopamine systems in mediating effects of Pavlovian stimuli on appetitive behavior, a role of dopamine in mediating aftereffect-induced CPP seems plausible. Here we assessed whether the mixed D1/D2 receptor antagonist flupenthixol (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.) can block the expression of an aftereffect-induced CPP.ResultsIn line with earlier studies, our results demonstrate that rats displayed a conditioned preference for environments paired with the aftereffect of wheel running and further show that the magnitude of CPP was not related to the wheel running rate. Furthermore, we found that flupenthixol (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.) reduced locomotor activity but did not attenuate the expression of an aftereffect-induced CPP.ConclusionThe expression of a CPP produced by the aftereffect of wheel running seems not to depend on dopamine D1/D2 receptor activation.
Highlights
Rats lever-press for access to running wheels suggesting that wheel running by itself is reinforcing
Conditioned place preference In the place preference test, rats preferred the chamber paired with the aftereffect of wheel running over the control chamber
Our results demonstrate that rats displayed a conditioned preference for environments paired with the aftereffect of wheel running and further show that the conditioned place preference (CPP) magnitude was not related to the wheel running rate
Summary
Rats lever-press for access to running wheels suggesting that wheel running by itself is reinforcing. Pairings of an episode of wheel running and subsequent confinement in a specific environment can establish a conditioned place preference (CPP). This finding implies that the reinforcing effects of wheel running outlast the actual occurrence of physical activity, a phenomenon referred to as aftereffect of wheel running. These findings imply that the reinforcing effects of wheel running outlast the actual occurrence of physical activity, a phenomenon referred to as aftereffect of wheel running [2,8,9,10]. Naloxone, a μ-opioid receptor antagonist, attenuated the acquisition and expression of an aftereffect-induced CPP [9]
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