Running induces nausea in rats: Kaolin intake generated by voluntary and forced wheel running

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted showing rats' pica behavior (kaolin clay intake) due to running in activity wheels. The amount of kaolin consumed was a positive function of the available time of voluntary running (20, 40, or 60 min), although this relationship was blunted by a descending (i.e., 60 → 40 → 20 min) test series of execution (Experiment 1). Pica was also generated by forced running in a motorized wheel for 60 min as a positive function of the speed of wheel rotations at 98, 185, or 365 m/h, independent of the order of execution (Experiment 2). Voluntary running generated more pica than did forced running at 80 m/h, although the distance travelled in the former condition was 27% lesser than that in the latter condition (Experiment 3). Because kaolin intake is regarded as a reliable measure of nausea in rats, these results show that wheel running, either voluntary or forced, induces nausea in rats.

Keywords: Kaolin; Pica; Rats; Wheel running.