Freewheel Running Prevents Learned Helplessness (How Would This Fit Into Peat's View Of Exercise?

[James_001]

Freewheel running prevents learned helplessness/behavioral depression: role of dorsal raphe serotonergic neurons.
Greenwood BN1, Foley TE, Day HE, Campisi J, Hammack SH, Campeau S, Maier SF, Fleshner M.
Author information

Abstract
Serotonin (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) are implicated in mediating learned helplessness (LH) behaviors, such as poor escape responding and expression of exaggerated conditioned fear, induced by acute exposure to uncontrollable stress. DRN 5-HT neurons are hyperactive during uncontrollable stress, resulting in desensitization of 5-HT type 1A (5-HT1A) inhibitory autoreceptors in the DRN. 5-HT1A autoreceptor downregulation is thought to induce transient sensitization of DRN 5-HT neurons, resulting in excessive 5-HT activity in brain areas that control the expression of learned helplessness behaviors. Habitual physical activity has antidepressant/anxiolytic properties and results in dramatic alterations in physiological stress responses, but the neurochemical mediators of these effects are unknown. The current study determined the effects of 6 weeks of voluntary freewheel running on LH behaviors, uncontrollable stress-induced activity of DRN 5-HT neurons, and basal expression of DRN 5-HT1A autoreceptor mRNA. Freewheel running prevented the shuttle box escape deficit and the exaggerated conditioned fear that is induced by uncontrollable tail shock in sedentary rats. Furthermore, double c-Fos/5-HT immunohistochemistry revealed that physical activity attenuated tail shock-induced activity of 5-HT neurons in the rostral-mid DRN. Six weeks of freewheel running also resulted in a basal increase in 5-HT1A inhibitory autoreceptor mRNA in the rostral-mid DRN. Results suggest that freewheel running prevents behavioral depression/LH and attenuates DRN 5-HT neural activity during uncontrollable stress. An increase in 5-HT1A inhibitory autoreceptor expression may contribute to the attenuation of DRN 5-HT activity and the prevention of LH in physically active rats.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12684476

 

[James_001]

I find myself craving endurance exercise during times of helplessness...

 

[thegiantess]

Hm. I'm not sure what Peat's view of exercise is... I'm not sure I've read or heard much about it. I will say that I would find it really, really hard to believe that exercise, when not exhaustive, is not healthy. I just cannot buy any theory that suggests we are not evolved to move. I can see how things like Crossfit are dumb and anti-metabolic, but walking, yoga, and even jogging seem to fall in line with what we are evolved to do. Haidut said in one of the recent interviews with Roddy that his view is that exercise that doesn't lead to hyperventilation is beneficial. I know I always feel good when I am moving. I think where we go wrong is that we believe more is always better, or longer and harder is better because our drive to exercise is tied to a lot more than just biological desire like it might be for rats. In western culture anyway it seems that we think more is always better and thinner is desirable, etc. I think a lot of exercise that people do is divorced from what feels good to what they think is better for them.

 

[CoolTweetPete]

I'm sorry, what is "freewheel" running? Can't seem to find any relevant information on it.

IIRC, our capacity for oxidative phosphorylation (our most advanced and powerful energy production system) only lasts about 10 seconds at high effort. If you exercise longer than this at high intensity, the body activates the backup pathways (undesireable, and less effective) glycolysis and lipolysis.

 

[ecstatichamster]

freewheel running is having rodents run on a wheel, like a treadmill. It's exercise for them that is not stressful the way forced swimming is (another way to exercise rodents in experiments that makes them swim, yuck.)

Exercise is a fetish today. Activity is wonderful. Exercise not so much. That is Ray's view I think. It is backed by many studies showing elevated stress hormones and free fatty acids especially with endurance exercise.

I love being active. I think activity is healthy. Running and jumping and swimming and walking are great. Weightlifting sometimes is fun. If you're not getting joy out of it, don't do it.

 

[CoolTweetPete]

I'm a personal trainer in my spare time, and one of my old mentors once put it very eloquently to me. Exercise is really just a supplement for people who are not physically active enough in our day to day lives. If people just got enough natural movement (as opposed to sitting in cubes all day) it would make exercise less necessary.

Alas for those of us who sit 8-9 hours a day for work, exercise (supplement) is helpful in lieu of natural movement (real food).