Use in Science
The reliability which hamsters and other animals use running wheels has made wheel-running one of the most widely used indicators of activity and wake-time in research on circadian rhythms and other aspects of chronobiology.
While relatively little is known about the neurotransmitter systems involved in wheel running behavior, recent evidence suggests that changes in serotonergic tone alter running wheel activity. For example, one study in mice has shown that several antidepressant medications (all of which directly or indirectly enhance serotonergic tone) suppress running wheel activity without suppressing general locomotion.
Read more about this topic: Hamster Wheel
Famous quotes containing the word science:
“There are two kinds of truth; the truth that lights the way and the truth that warms the heart. The first of these is science, and the second is art.... Without art science would be as useless as a pair of high forceps in the hands of a plumber. Without science art would become a crude mess of folklore and emotional quackery.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)