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Memory enhancement in aged rats: The differential outcomes effect
Author(s) -
Savage Lisa M.,
Pitkin Shane R.,
Careri Jason M.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(199912)35:4<318::aid-dev6>3.0.co;2-8
Subject(s) - working memory , psychology , audiology , uncorrelated , cognition , differential effects , developmental psychology , task (project management) , spatial memory , age groups , medicine , neuroscience , statistics , demography , mathematics , management , economics , sociology
Aged (23 months) and young (3 months) rats were trained on an operant Matching‐To‐Position (MTP) task that had either (a) specific outcomes (reinforcers) correlated (differential groups), or (b) outcomes uncorrelated (nondifferential groups) for each correct sample‐choice sequence. The traditional version of MTP uses a common outcome and is thought to assess spatial working memory. Aged rats are impaired on the traditional version of MTP. However, aged animals trained with the Differential Outcomes Procedure (DOP) did not display the typical age‐related decline in spatial working memory. Differences in choice accuracy between old and young rats reached significance only if the subjects were trained with a nondifferential outcomes procedure (NOP)—similar to when a common outcome is used. These data demonstrate that employing behavioral procedures to tap intact cognitive functions is an effective means of enhancing spatial working memory in normal as well as aged subjects. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 35: 318–327, 1999