title: Gonadal hormones and voluntary exercise interact to improve discrimination ability in a set-shift task.
abstract: Exercise has been demonstrated to improve multiple facets of health, including cognitive function. Rodent studies have suggested that exercise has robust effects on the hippocampus and on tasks that require the hippocampus. However, studies of the effects of exercise in humans often focus on the benefits to cognitive processes that engage areas outside of the hippocampus, such as executive function. Additionally, when exercise's cognitive benefits are examined, consideration of both males and females, and gonadal hormones, is rarely made. Here we looked at the interaction of gonadal hormones and exercise in terms of the ability of male and female rats to learn to discriminate rewarded from unrewarded arms in a T maze based on either brightness (white vs. black) or texture (rough vs. smooth) and then to set-shift (a measure of executive function), where this required discrimination is based on the opposite dimension. Gonadectomized or intact males and females had access to running wheels for 2 weeks before being tested. Intact males and females given access to unlocked running wheels performed better at the initial discrimination (Set 1) compared with intact males and females with locked running wheels but not at the set shift (Set 2). No advantage of exercise was observed in gonadectomized rats.
authors: Department of Psychology.
authors: Meghan C
authors: MC
authors: Eddy
authors: Katharine M
authors: KM
authors: Rifken
authors: Donna J
authors: DJ
authors: Toufexis
authors: John T
authors: JT
authors: Green
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D042341:Gonadal Hormones / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009919:Orchiectomy; D010052:Ovariectomy; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012201:Reward
chemical_list: D042341:Gonadal Hormones
references: Neurobiol Aging. 2007 Feb;28(2):179-85
references: 16406152
references: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003 Nov;1003:464-7
references: 14684490
references: Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2005 Mar;83(2):93-103
references: 15721792
references: Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006 Mar;14(3):345-56
references: 16648603
references: Behav Neurosci. 2003 Oct;117(5):1006-16
references: 14570550
references: J Cell Biochem. 2009 Dec 15;108(6):1318-24
references: 19830701
references: Brain Res Mol Brain Res. 1998 Oct 30;61(1-2):147-53
references: 9795193
references: J Neurosci. 2012 Feb 15;32(7):2241-7
references: 22396398
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Nov 9;96(23):13427-31
references: 10557337
references: Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1999 Dec;64(4):803-12
references: 10593204
references: Cereb Cortex. 2011 Jan;21(1):222-32
references: 20466748
references: Psychol Sci. 2003 Mar;14(2):125-30
references: 12661673
references: Brain Res Mol Brain Res. 1997 Jun;46(1-2):343-6
references: 9191114
references: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2008 Jan;9(1):58-65
references: 18094706
references: Neurosci Lett. 2008 Jul 18;439(3):260-3
references: 18534749
references: J Comp Physiol Psychol. 1971 Mar;74(3):365-73
references: 5546884
references: J Neurosci. 2007 May 16;27(20):5291-300
references: 17507552
references: Eur J Neurosci. 2004 Jan;19(1):181-9
references: 14750976
references: Behav Brain Res. 2010 Dec 1;213(2):253-62
references: 20472000
references: Neurosci Lett. 1987 Aug 18;79(1-2):138-44
references: 2959886
references: Neuropharmacology. 2011 Feb-Mar;60(2-3):432-8
references: 21035474
references: Eur J Neurosci. 2004 Nov;20(10):2580-90
references: 15548201
references: Brain Res. 2010 Mar 19;1321:51-9
references: 20079719
references: Behav Neurosci. 2002 Feb;116(1):105-15
references: 11898801
references: Behav Neurosci. 2005 Aug;119(4):953-60
references: 16187823
references: Am J Psychiatry. 1992 Jan;149(1):62-7
references: 1728187
references: Neuromolecular Med. 2008;10(2):67-80
references: 18274707
references: Behav Neurosci. 2011 Jun;125(3):372-82
references: 21500882
references: Neuropharmacology. 2010 Jun;58(7):951-61
references: 20096294
references: J Neurosci Res. 2004 Aug 1;77(3):378-90
references: 15248294
references: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006 Jun;7(6):464-76
references: 16715055
references: Eur J Neurosci. 2001 Dec;14(12):1992-2002
references: 11860494
references: Physiol Behav. 2000 Sep 15;70(5):425-9
references: 11110995
references: Neuroscience. 2010 May 19;167(3):588-97
references: 20219647