Voluntary Exercise Increases Striatal Dopamine Release and Improves Motor Performance in Aging Mice

This study evaluated the influence of physical exercise on striatal dopamine release, as well as on mobility and motor coordination in aging male and female C57BL/6J mice (46-52 weeks of age). Mice were allowed unlimited access to a freely rotating wheel (runners) or a locked wheel (controls) for 30 days. Electrically evoked dopamine release was quantified using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, in the dorsolateral striatum and nucleus accumbens core and shell in ex vivo corticostriatal slices from these animals. Given that striatal dopamine release can be driven by acetylcholine (ACh) released from cholinergic interneurons and acting at nicotinic ACh receptors on dopamine axons, changes in ACh-dependent regulation of dopamine release was also assessed. Behavioral testing was conducted in the same mice used for dopamine release studies and included measures of locomotor activity in the open field, time to descend a vertical pole, and grip strength. Daily running activity was monitored for the exercise cohorts, along with weekly assessment of body weight and food consumption for all mice. This dataset contains behavioral and voltammetry data.