Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

First Advisor

Rudy Eikelboom

Advisor Role

Thesis Supervisor

Abstract

For adult male rats, initial access to a running wheel results in a pronounced suppression of feeding with a subsequent disruption of weight gain, but results with female and younger rats are not as clear. The present experiments demonstrated that age may be a confounding factor in the conflicting reports. The effects of ad lib wheel access on feeding and body weight were investigated in adult male, adult female, and weanling male rats using consistent procedures and recording data daily. For adult males and females, wheel access initially suppressed feeding and reduced weight relative to sedentary controls. These effects were similar in males and females. Weanling males displayed only a mild, temporary, feeding and weight suppression, which became non- significant when compared to the adult males. Thus, age seems to be an important factor in wheel running effects on feeding and weight. These age differences may speak to the age differences in incidence of anorexia nervosa.

Convocation Year

2000

Convocation Season

Fall

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS