Daily wheel running activity modifies the period of free-running rhythm in rats via intergeniculate leaflet.

The period of free-running rhythms (tau) in rats, as measured using a running wheel, is different from that measured using an Automex. The aim of this work was to examine the effects of lesions of the intergeniculate leaflet (IGL) on the tau of these two activity rhythms. When blind rats were transferred from a cage with a running wheel to a cage without a running wheel, the tau lengthened. The tau of the wheel-running activity was associated with the number of wheel revolutions per day. A complete lesion of the IGL lengthened the tau of the wheel-running activity, and caused a reduction in the number of wheel revolutions per day in all rats. In rats housed in cages without a running wheel, locomotor activity was reduced by IGL lesions, although the tau was unaffected. When IGL-lesioned rats were transferred from a cage with a running wheel to a cage without a running wheel, no further change was observed. These results indicate that the tau is modified by the daily activity of wheel-running, but not by general locomotor activity, and that the IGL may be involved in this modification.