Voluntary Running Wheel Activity
Objective: To assess effects of voluntary physical activity on neurogenesis by housing mice with running wheels and analyzing dendritic morphology and neurogenesis markers
Protocol Steps
Animal grouping and housing setup
Divide 18 female C57BL/6 mice (6 weeks old, 19-24g) into 3 groups: seizure (N=6), running (N=6), and controls (N=6). House running group with 2-3 animals per cage equipped with running wheel.
Note: Running group housed with running wheel access
View evidence from paper
“Additional 18 female C57BL/6 mice (same age as above) were divided into 3 groups: seizure (N = 6), running (N = 6) and controls (N = 6). The Runner group was housed with 2–3 animals per cage that was equipped with a running wheel.”
Kainic acid injection for seizure group
Administer single intraperitoneal injection of 30 mg/kg kainic acid in 0.1 M PBS to seizure group on Day 0 (day before BrdU injections). Only animals displaying continuous convulsive seizure activity are used in experiments.
Note: Only seizure animals with continuous convulsive seizure activity are included
View evidence from paper
“Seizure animals received a single intraperitoneal application of 30 mg/kg kainic acid (KA, Sigma) in 0.1 M phosphate buffered saline (PBS) on the day before BrdU-injections (Day 0), and only those displaying continuous convulsive seizure activity were used in these experiments.”
BrdU injections
Administer daily intraperitoneal injections of BrdU (50 mg/kg in sterile 0.9% NaCl) to all animals for 7 consecutive days starting on Day 1 (day after kainic acid injection for seizure group).
Note: All three groups (seizure, running, controls) receive BrdU injections
View evidence from paper
“During the first 7 days of the experiment all animals received one daily injection of BrdU.”
Voluntary running activity
Running group animals have continuous access to running wheels throughout the experimental period while housed 2-3 per cage.
Note: Running wheel access is the key intervention for the running group
View evidence from paper
“The Runner group was housed with 2–3 animals per cage that was equipped with a running wheel.”
Tissue collection and analysis
Collect tissue from all groups for analysis of dendritic morphology and neurogenesis markers. Data on dendritic morphology were exclusively generated for the present study.
Note: Focus on dendritic morphology analysis specific to this study
View evidence from paper
“Data on dendritic morphology, etc., were exclusively generated for the present study.”