The mesolimbic reward pathway is implicated in stress-related psychiatric disorders and is a potential target of plasticity underlying the stress resistance produced by repeated voluntary exercise. It is unknown, however, whether rats find long-term access to running wheels rewarding, or if repeated voluntary exercise reward produces plastic changes in mesolimbic reward neurocircuitry. In the current studies, young adult, male Fischer 344 rats allowed voluntary access to running wheels for 6 weeks, but not 2 weeks, found wheel running rewarding, as measured by conditioned place preference (CPP). Consistent with prior reports and the behavioral data, 6 weeks of wheel running increased ΔFosB/FosB immunoreactivity in the nucleus accumbens (Acb). In addition, semi quantitative in situ hybridization revealed that 6 weeks of wheel running, compared to sedentary housing, increased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA levels in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), increased delta opioid receptor (DOR) mRNA levels in the Acb shell, and reduced levels of dopamine receptor (DR)-D2 mRNA in the Acb core. Results indicate that repeated voluntary exercise is rewarding and alters gene transcription in mesolimbic reward neurocircuitry. The duration-dependent effects of wheel running on CPP suggest that as the weeks of wheel running progress, the rewarding effects of a night of voluntary wheel running might linger longer into the inactive cycle thus providing stronger support for CPP. The observed plasticity could contribute to the mechanisms by which exercise reduces the incidence and severity of substance abuse disorders, changes the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse, and facilitates successful coping with stress.

Background Exposure to uncontrollable stressors often increases anxiety-like behavior in both humans and rodents. In rat, this effect depends upon stress-induced activity within the dorsal raphé nucleus (DRN). However, the role of serotonin in DRN projection regions is largely unknown. The goals of the current study were to 1) determine if DRN activity during a post-stress anxiety test is involved in anxiety-like behavior, 2) assess the effect of uncontrollable stress on extracellular serotonin in the basolateral amygdala during the anxiety test, and 3) determine the role of the serotonin 2C receptor (5-HT2C) in uncontrollable stress-induced anxiety. Method Rats were exposed to tailshocks that were uncontrollable. On the following day anxiety-like behavior was assessed in a JSE test. BLA extracellular serotonin concentrations were assessed during JSE by in vivo microdialysis 24 h after uncontrollable stress, controllable stress or no stress. In separate experiments drugs were administered before the JSE test to inhibit the DRN or to block 5-HT2C receptors. Results Exposure to uncontrollable shock reduced later social exploration. Prior uncontrollable stress potentiated serotonin efflux in the BLA during social exploration, but controllable stress did not. Intra-DRN 8-OH-DPAT and systemic and intra-BLA 5-HT2C receptor antagonist SB 242084 prevented the expression of potentiated anxiety in uncontrollably stressed rats. Intra-BLA injection of the 5-HT2C agonist CP 809101 mimicked the effect of stress. Conclusion These results suggest that the anxiety-like behavior observed after uncontrollable stress is mediated by exaggerated 5-HT acting at BLA 5-HT2C receptors.

Voluntary physical activity induces molecular changes in the hippocampus consistent with improved hippocampal function, but few studies have explored the effects of wheel running on specific hippocampal-dependent learning and memory processes. The current studies investigated the impact of voluntary wheel running on learning and memory for context and extinction using contextual fear conditioning which is known to be dependent on the hippocampus. When conditioning occurred prior to the start of 6 weeks of wheel running, wheel running had no effect on memory for context or extinction (assessed with freezing). In contrast, when wheel running occurred for 6 weeks prior to conditioning, physical activity improved contextual memory during a retention test 24 hours later, but did not affect extinction learning or memory. Wheel running had no effect on freezing immediately after foot shock presentation during conditioning, suggesting that physical activity does not affect the acquisition of the context – shock association or alter the expression of freezing, per se. Instead, it is argued that physical activity improves the consolidation of contextual memories in the hippocampus. Consistent with improved hippocampus-dependent context learning and memory, 6 weeks of wheel running also improved context discrimination and reduced the context pre-exposure time required to form a strong contextual memory. The effect of wheel running on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in hippocampal and amygdala subregions was also investigated. Wheel running increased BDNF mRNA in the dentate gyrus, CA1, and the basolateral amygdala. Results are consistent with improved hippocampal function following physical activity.

Uncontrollable stress can interfere with instrumental learning and induce anxiety in humans and rodents. While evidence supports a role for serotonin (5-HT) and serotonin 2C receptors (5-HT2CR) in the behavioral consequences of uncontrollable stress, the specific sites of action are unknown. These experiments sought to delineate the role of 5-HT and 5-HT2CR in the dorsal striatum (DS) and the lateral/basolateral amygdala (BLA) in the expression of stress-induced instrumental escape deficits and exaggerated fear, as these structures are critical to instrumental learning and fear behaviors. Using in vivo microdialysis, we first demonstrate that prior uncontrollable, but not controllable, stress sensitizes extracellular 5-HT in the dorsal striatum, a result that parallels prior work in the BLA. Additionally, rats were implanted with bilateral cannula in either the DS or the BLA and exposed to uncontrollable tail shock stress. One day later, rats were with injected 5-HT2CR antagonist (SB242084) and fear and instrumental learning behaviors were assessed in a shuttle box. Separately, groups of non-stressed rats received an intra-DS or an intra-BLA injection of the 5-HT2CR agonist (CP809101) and behavior was observed. Intra-DS injections of the 5-HT2CR antagonist prior to fear/escape tests completely blocked the stress-induced interference with instrumental escape learning; a partial block was observed when injections were in the BLA. Antagonist administration in either region did not influence stress-induced fear behavior. In the absence of prior stress, intra-DS administration of the 5-HT2CR agonist was sufficient to interfere with escape behavior without enhancing fear, while intra-BLA administration of the 5-HT2CR agonist increased fear behavior but had no effect on escape learning. Results reveal a novel role of the 5-HT2CR in the DS in the expression of instrumental escape deficits produced by uncontrollable stress and demonstrate that the involvement of 5-HT2CR activation in stress-induced behaviors is regionally specific.

Exercise can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in humans, but therapeutic effects of exercise in an animal model of stress-related mood disorders have yet to be demonstrated. In the current study, the authors investigated the ability of wheel running to reverse a long-lasting interference with shuttle box escape produced by uncontrollable stress. Rats who remained sedentary following uncontrollable foot shock demonstrated robust conditioned freezing behavior to the stressor environment and deficits in shuttle box escape learning. Voluntary access to running wheels for 6 weeks, but not 2 weeks, following uncontrollable foot shock reduced the expression of conditioned freezing and reversed the escape deficit. Results demonstrate a long-lasting interference with shuttle box escape that can be reversed by exercise in a duration-dependent fashion.