Exercise-induced changes in schedule controlled behavior

This experiment was designed to measure the direct effect of acute exercise on performance of an operant task in rats. Treadmill exercise was manipulated along two dimensions: speed and duration. Separate groups of rats (n = 12) were tested under a multi-component time-out fixed-ratio (MULT TO FR) schedule following four exercise treatments. The first group of animals (Group A) ran at a constant speed for four different periods of time. A second group (Group B) ran for a constant period of time at four different treadmill speeds. For both groups, running took place just before operant test sessions. Operant responding on test days was compared with operant responding on the immediately preceding day. Both exercise duration and exercise speed had significant effects on operant performance.