Activity and rest alternation: temporal distribution and influencing factors in nocturnal rodents

Abstract

Lifestyle and heredity are two different terms but yet closely related components. An evaluation for the time invested in sleep and locomotion behaviors per second in the Wistar rats animal model was carried out. A total of six rats within the same cage were marked by color in a room supported by the day’s light (12h lighting/12h darkness). These animals were filmed for 18 h daily for ten days (9h lighting, 9h darkness) to estimate the time budget of sleep and locomotion behaviors and the temporal distribution taking into account the nature of this biological model’s activity. The results obtained reveal sleeping/locomotion cycles respecting the natural photoperiod except for a rat that shows dominance in nocturnal sleep compared to the rest of the rats. These advances support a change in photoperiodic behavior in response to an adaptation to the rhythm imposed by the manipulator. They invite studies on a larger sample to consolidate this behavior controlled by the environment.