A Longitudinal Study of Short- and Long-Term Activity Levels in Male and Female Spontaneously Hypertensive, Wistar-Kyoto, and Sprague-Dawley Rats

• Published in: Behavioral neuroscience 2003-04, Vol.117 (2), p.271-282
• Main Authors: Ferguson, Sherry A, Cada, Amy M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activity Level; Activity levels. Psychomotricity; Age Factors; Animal; Animal behavior; Animal Development; Animal Locomotion; Animal Models; Animal Open Field Behavior; Animal Sex Differences; Animal Strain Differences; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Body Weight - drug effects; Body Weight - physiology; Central Nervous System Stimulants - pharmacology; Circadian Rhythm - drug effects; Circadian Rhythm - physiology; Disease Models, Animal; Escape Reaction; Exploratory Behavior - drug effects; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hypertension; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Maze Learning - drug effects; Maze Learning - physiology; Methylphenidate - pharmacology; Miscellaneous; Motor Activity - drug effects; Motor Activity - physiology; Neurology; Pregnancy; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychomotor activities; Psychophysiology; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR; Rats, Inbred WKY; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rodents; Sex Factors; Species Specificity
• ISSN: 0735-7044; 1939-0084
• DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.117.2.271

The pattern of locomotor activity across development was assessed in male and female spontaneously hypertensive (SHR), Wistar-Kyoto (WKY), and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Open field activity did not indicate hyperactivity in the SHR. Instead, the SD strain was generally more active. Strains and sexes did not differ in open-field locomotor response to drug challenges. When short-term (10-12 min) activity in different apparatuses was compared, the SD were most active in the open field, the SHR in the residential figure-eight maze, and the WKY in the running wheel. Long-term tests indicated hyperactivity in the SHR in the residential figure-eight maze and hypoactivity in the SD in the running wheels. Until such strain differences in activity are thoroughly defined, the use of the SHR as a model of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is limited.