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Updated: May 31, 2026
Biomarkers in an Animal Model for Revealing Neural, Hematologic, and Behavioral Correlates of PTSD
Published on: October 10, 2012
Voluntary exercise does not ameliorate context memory and hyperarousal in a mouse model for post-traumatic stress
Raffaele Cacciaglia1, Annegret Krause-Utz, Miriam A Vogt
1Institute of Neuropsychology and Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany.
Objectives:
We investigated the effects of voluntary wheel running as model for intervention on the development of contextual fear and hyperarousal in a mouse model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Physical exercise in general has been associated with improved hippocampus-dependent memory performance both in animals and humans. However, studies that have tried to link physical exercise and contextual conditioning in an animal model of PTSD, revealed mixed findings.
Methods:
Here we tested contextual fear conditioning, generalized fear response, acoustic startle response and emotionality in C57BL/6NCrl mice which had free access to a running wheel for 28 days, compared with control animals which did not run and mice which did not receive a shock during the conditioning phase.
Results:
We found no significant effects of voluntary running on the above-mentioned variables, except for enhanced anxiety levels in the Dark-Light-Box and O-Maze tests of running mice.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that running as a model for intervention does not ameliorate contextual aversive learning but has the potency to change emotional behaviours.
