Voluntary Wheel Running
Objective: Assessment of voluntary exercise motivation through wheel running activity in mice with dorsal medial habenula lesions to evaluate the role of dMHb in exercise motivation and hedonic state
This is a Voluntary Wheel Running protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 6 procedural steps, 2 equipment items. Extracted from a 2014 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
mouse • Not specified in provided text • unknown • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text
Study window
Estimated timing pending
Core workflow
Voluntary wheel running assessment • Accelerating rotarod testing • Gait and balance assessment
Primary readouts
- Voluntary wheel running activity levels
- Accelerating rotarod performance
- Gait and balance measures
- Basal locomotion levels
Key equipment and reagents
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Protocol Steps
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Voluntary wheel running assessment
Mice are assessed for voluntary wheel running activity to measure exercise motivation
Note: This is a motivation-based locomotor behavior test
View evidence from paper
“Mice with dMHb lesions perform poorly in motivation-based locomotor behaviors, such as voluntary wheel running”
Accelerating rotarod testing
Mice are tested on an accelerating rotarod to assess motor function and motivation-based locomotor behavior
Note: Measures both motor function and motivation-based behavior
View evidence from paper
“Mice with dMHb lesions perform poorly in motivation-based locomotor behaviors, such as voluntary wheel running and the accelerating rotarod”
Gait and balance assessment
Evaluation of gait and balance in mice to assess baseline motor function
Note: dMHb lesion mice show only minor abnormalities in these measures
View evidence from paper
“show only minor abnormalities in gait and balance and exhibit normal levels of basal locomotion”
Basal locomotion measurement
Assessment of baseline locomotor activity levels
Note: dMHb lesion mice exhibit normal levels of basal locomotion
View evidence from paper
“exhibit normal levels of basal locomotion”
Sucrose preference test
Measurement of hedonic state through sucrose preference, a measure of depression-related phenotypes
Note: dMHb lesion mice show deficits in sucrose preference
View evidence from paper
“These mice also show deficits in sucrose preference, but not in the forced swim test, two measures of depression-related phenotypes”
Forced swim test
Assessment of depression-related behavior and hedonic state
Note: dMHb lesion mice show normal performance in forced swim test
View evidence from paper
“show deficits in sucrose preference, but not in the forced swim test, two measures of depression-related phenotypes”