Conditioned exercise method for use with nonhuman primates

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using appetitive methods to train adult male olive baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis), who were socially housed and fitted with indwelling catheter/ transducer systems, to exercise on an inclined, motorized, moving treadmill. All subjects were first trained to walk on a motorized treadmill for 30 min at a speed of approximately 1.6 km/hr on a 0 grade. Upon completion of initial exercise training, six animals were assigned to a low exercise group (LOW), six were assigned to a moderate exercise group (MOD), and six were assigned to a sedentary control group (SED). The LOW group exercised 30 min per day on an elevated treadmill, the MOD group exercised 60 min per day on an elevated treadmill and the SED group did not perform any treadmill exercise. The 12 animals comprising the LOW and MOD groups were exercised 4 days per week and their performance was increased over a subsequent 30-week experimental period. We gradually increased speed and grade demands over several weeks and produced an animal model capable of traveling at speeds up to 5.5 km/hr on a 22% grade and distances up to 3,353 m horizontally and 549 m vertically in a 1-hr session. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.