title: Effects of combined exercise and progesterone treatments on cocaine seeking in male and female rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Individually, both treatment with progesterone and concurrent access to an exercise wheel reduce cocaine self-administration under long-access conditions and suppress cocaine-primed reinstatement in female rats. In the present study, wheel running and progesterone (alone and combined) were assessed for their effects on reinstatement of cocaine-seeking primed by yohimbine, cocaine, and cocaine-paired cues.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male and female rats were implanted with an intravenous catheter and allowed to self-administer cocaine (0.4 mg/kg/inf, iv) during 6-h sessions for 10 days. Subsequently, the groups of male and female rats were each divided into two groups that were given concurrent access to either a locked or unlocked running wheel under extinction conditions for 14 days. Next, all four groups were tested in a within-subjects design for reinstatement of cocaine-seeking precipitated by separate administration of cocaine-paired stimuli, yohimbine, or cocaine or the combination of yohimbine + cocaine-paired stimuli or cocaine + cocaine-paired stimuli. These priming conditions were tested in the presence of concurrent wheel access (W), pretreatment with progesterone (P), or both (W + P).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In agreement with previous results, females responded more for cocaine than males during maintenance. Additionally, concurrent wheel running attenuated extinction responses and cocaine-primed reinstatement in females but not in males. Across all priming conditions, W + P reduced reinstatement compared to control conditions, and for cocaine-primed reinstatement in male rats, the combined W + P treatment was more effective than W or P alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Under certain conditions, combined behavioral (exercise) and pharmacological (progesterone) interventions were more successful at reducing cocaine-seeking behavior than either intervention alone.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Jackson Hall, 321 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA, zleb0002@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Natalie E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Zlebnik
authors.forename: Amy T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Saykao
authors.forename: Marilyn E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Carroll
mesh_terms: D058669:Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003463:Cues; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D058999:Drug-Seeking Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology; D012646:Self Administration; D015016:Yohimbine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D058669:Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Antagonists; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; D015016:Yohimbine; D011374:Progesterone; D003042:Cocaine