An experimental model for the study of exercise-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy

A procedure for training laboratory cats to perform weight-lifting exercise has been developed. This program consists of operantly conditioning adult cats to move a bar a specific distance with their right forelimb to receive a food reward. Weights attached to the bar via a pully are lifted as the bar is moved. The cat is then exercised at the same load for 5 days before the weight is increased. A linear potentiometer, attached to the hinged bar, produces an analog voltage proportional to the bar movement. This voltage is then monitored by a general purpose computer using a real-time behavioral program. In this way, the numbber of times the cat moves the bar, the time required to move the bar, and the time between bar movements are all recorded. The total physical work accomplished and the average power expended by the cat during the weight-lifting exercise regimen can then be calculated. This procedure has the advantage of inducing significant gross muscle hypertrophy (from 7 to 34%) and muscle fiber hypertrophy in one limb, while the muscles of the opposite limb can be utilized for comparative studies. The striking morphological and histochemical transformations that occur during physiological hypertrophy are now available for experimental investigation using this model.