Studies from Dartmouth College yield new information about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
2009 AUG 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to a study from the United States, "The effects of voluntary physical exercise on attentional function and social behavior were examined in male and female spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), a commonly used animal model of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Rats in the exercise groups had free access to a running wheel for 2 weeks and then all rats received nonreinforced presentations of a visual stimulus (light) during the 1st training session, followed by daily sessions in which the light was paired with food." "Nonexercising male and female SHR rats exhibited more unconditioned orienting behavior than Wistar-Kyoto rats. SHRs also exhibited impaired conditioning when the light was paired with food. Exercise reduced orienting in female SHRs but not in male SHRs. In the social interaction task, nonexercising male and female SHRs interacted more with an unfamiliar rat than Wistar-Kyoto rats. Exercise reduced the number of social interactions in female SHRs but not male SHRs. There were no differences in general locomotor activity observed between the nonexercising and exercising SHRs," wrote M.E. Hopkins and colleagues, Dartmouth College. The researchers concluded: "These data indicate that exercise may preferentially benefit female SHRs, and has implications for using exercise as an intervention for ADHD and for understanding sex differences in the effects of exercise on behavior." Hopkins and colleagues published their study in Behavioral Neuroscience (Voluntary Physical Exercise Alters Attentional Orienting and Social Behavior in a Rat Model of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Behavioral Neuroscience, 2009;123(3):599-606). For more information, contact D.J. Bucci, Dartmouth College, Dept. of Psychology & Brain Science, 6207 Moore Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. Publisher contact information for the journal Behavioral Neuroscience is: American Psychological Association, 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, USA. Keywords: United States, Hanover, ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Developmental Disabilities, Mental Health, Neuroscience, Social Behavior, Dartmouth College. This article was prepared by Mental Health Weekly Digest editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Mental Health Weekly Digest via NewsRx.com.
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