title: Prevention of the incubation of cocaine seeking by aerobic exercise in female rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent research has demonstrated that aerobic exercise can attenuate craving for drugs of abuse and reduce escalation and reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior in animal models. The present study examined the effects of aerobic exercise on the development of the incubation of cocaine-seeking behavior or the progressive increase in cocaine seeking over a protracted withdrawal period from cocaine self-administration.
  
  
  METHODS
  Female rats were trained to self-administer cocaine (0.4 mg/kg/inf) during daily 6-h sessions for 10 days. Subsequently, access to cocaine and cocaine-paired cues was discontinued during a 3- or 30-day withdrawal period when rats had access to either a locked or unlocked running wheel. At the end of the withdrawal period, rats were reintroduced to the operant conditioning chamber and reexposed to cocaine-paired cues to examine cocaine-seeking behavior under extinction conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Rats with access to a locked running wheel during 30 days of withdrawal had significantly greater cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior than rats that had access to an unlocked running wheel for 30 days. Further, there was robust incubation of cocaine seeking in rats with access to a locked running wheel as cocaine seeking was notably elevated at 30 vs. 3 days of withdrawal. However, cocaine-seeking behavior did not differ between rats with access to an unlocked running wheel for 30 vs. 3 days, indicating that incubation of cocaine seeking was suppressed following access to exercise for 30 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aerobic exercise during extended withdrawal from cocaine self-administration decreased incubation of cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior and may reduce vulnerability to relapse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Diehl Hall, 505 Essex St. SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA, nzlebnik@som.umaryland.edu.
authors.forename: Natalie E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Zlebnik
authors.forename: Marilyn E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Carroll
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D003042:Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects; D003463:Cues; D058999:Drug-Seeking Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012420:Running; D012646:Self Administration
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine