Voluntary exercise enables stress resistance in females

Margaret K Tanner; Isabella P Fallon; Michael V Baratta; Benjamin N Greenwood

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2019.111923

Voluntary exercise enables stress resistance in females

Behav Brain Res. 2019 Sep 2:369:111923. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.111923. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Authors

Margaret K Tanner¹, Isabella P Fallon², Michael V Baratta³, Benjamin N Greenwood⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, CB 171, PO Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, CB 173, PO Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

Stress-related disorders are more common in females than males. This difference could arise from differential responses to behavioral interventions that enable stress resistance between sexes. In male rats, regular physical activity prevents the behavioral consequences of uncontrollable stress, such as social avoidance and exaggerated fear conditioning. However, it is unknown if these protective effects are also present in females. Here we demonstrate for the first time in female rats that six weeks of voluntary wheel running buffers against the behavioral sequelae of uncontrollable stress. This observation allows for mechanistic investigations of exercise-induced stress resistance in both sexes.

Keywords: Anxiety; Resilience; Serotonin; Sex differences; Wheel running.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Anxiety / therapy
Fear / physiology
Fear / psychology
Female
Motor Activity / physiology*
Physical Conditioning, Animal / physiology
Physical Exertion / physiology
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Sex Characteristics
Sex Factors
Social Behavior
Stress, Psychological / therapy*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding