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The effects of aerobic exercise on cocaine self-administration in male and female rats

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Abstract

Rationale

In drug self-administration procedures, extended-access test sessions allow researchers to model maladaptive patterns of excessive and escalating drug intake that are characteristic of human substance-abusing populations.

Objectives

The purpose of the present study was to examine the ability of aerobic exercise to decrease excessive and escalating patterns of drug intake in male and female rats responding under extended-access conditions.

Methods

Male and female Long–Evans rats were obtained at weaning and divided into sedentary (no running wheel) and exercising (running wheel) groups immediately upon arrival. After 6 weeks, rats were surgically implanted with intravenous catheters and allowed to self-administer cocaine under positive reinforcement contingencies. In experiment 1, cocaine self-administration was examined during 23-h test sessions that occurred every 4 days. In experiment 2, the escalation of cocaine intake was examined during daily 6-h test sessions over 14 consecutive days.

Results

In experiment 1, sedentary rats self-administered significantly more cocaine than exercising rats during uninterrupted 23-h test sessions, and this effect was apparent in both males and females. In experiment 2, sedentary rats escalated their cocaine intake to a significantly greater degree than exercising rats over the 14 days of testing. Although females escalated their cocaine intake to a greater extent than males, exercise effectively attenuated the escalation of cocaine intake in both sexes.

Conclusions

These data indicate that aerobic exercise decreases maladaptive patterns of excessive and escalating cocaine intake under extended-access conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIDA Grants DA14255 and DA027485 to MAS). Additional support was provided by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Grant 52006292), the Duke Endowment, and Davidson College. The authors wish to thank the National Institute on Drug Abuse for supplying the study drug and Amy Sullivan for providing expert animal care. Portions of these data were presented at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence in Reno, NV on June 24, 2009 and the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, CA on November 16, 2010.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, 28035, USA

    Mark A. Smith, Katherine L. Walker & Kimberly C. Lang

  2. Program in Neuroscience, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, 28035, USA

    Mark A. Smith, Kathryn T. Cole & Kimberly C. Lang

  3. Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, 28035, USA

    Mark A. Smith, Kathryn T. Cole & Kimberly C. Lang

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  1. Mark A. Smith
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  2. Katherine L. Walker
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  4. Kimberly C. Lang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark A. Smith.

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Online Resource 1

Cocaine self-administration in female (left panel) and male (right panel) rats during 2-h training sessions. Vertical axes depict number of infusions obtained; horizontal axes depict session number. Open symbols depict data collected in sedentary rats (n = 8 female; n = 8 male); filled symbols depict data collected in exercising rats (n = 7 female; n = 7 male). The dose of cocaine was 0.5 mg/kg/infusion in each session. Note: The maximum number of infusions during the first two training sessions was capped at 21 to prevent overdose; only data from the final eight sessions are depicted (DOC 76 kb)

Online Resource 2

Cocaine self-administration in female (left panel) and male (right panel) rats during 2-h training sessions. Vertical axes depict number of infusions obtained during 1-h test sessions; horizontal axes depict session number. Open symbols depict data collected in sedentary rats (n = 7 female; n = 7 male); filled symbols depict data collected in exercising rats (n = 6 female; n = 8 male). The dose of cocaine was 0.5 mg/kg/infusion in each session. Note: The maximum number of infusions during the first two training sessions was capped at 21 to prevent overdose; only data from the final five sessions are depicted (DOC 122 kb)

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Smith, M.A., Walker, K.L., Cole, K.T. et al. The effects of aerobic exercise on cocaine self-administration in male and female rats. Psychopharmacology 218, 357–369 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-011-2321-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-011-2321-5

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