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T‐maze learning in weanling lambs
Author(s) -
Johnson Timothy B.,
Stanton Mark E.,
Goodlett Charles R.,
Cudd Timothy A.
Publication year - 2012
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/dev.20624
Subject(s) - weanling , psychology , task (project management) , t maze , developmental psychology , spatial learning , neuroscience , morris water navigation task , in utero , cognitive psychology , audiology , medicine , cognition , fetus , biology , endocrinology , pregnancy , management , economics , genetics
A major advantage of sheep models in experimental studies of neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., with prenatal neurotoxicant exposure) is that the equivalent of all three trimesters of human brain development occurs in sheep entirely in utero. However, studies of learning and memory in sheep are limited. The goal of this study was to extend the analysis of spatial learning and memory in adolescent sheep using several traditional T‐maze tasks. Both 9‐ and 14‐week‐old lambs acquired a delayed nonmatching‐to‐place task, but the older lambs learned the task significantly faster. In contrast, acquisition of a matching‐to‐place task was significantly more difficult. Lambs, like rodents, appear to have a predisposition toward learning “win‐shift” spatial problems in a T‐maze under appetitive motivation. Lambs also rapidly acquired a position habit and showed typical reversal learning curves. These findings support the use of T‐maze tasks to assess behavioral outcomes in various sheep models. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals,Inc. Dev Psychobiol 54: 785–797, 2012