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A sex difference in the onset of the latent learning impairment in rats
Author(s) -
Stouffer Eric M.,
Barry Jessica L.
Publication year - 2014
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.21168
Subject(s) - compartment (ship) , psychology , latent inhibition , physiology , developmental psychology , audiology , medicine , conditioning , classical conditioning , oceanography , statistics , mathematics , geology
The current study examined a sex difference in the onset of a latent learning impairment in Sprague–Dawley rats. Forty rats (20 male, 20 female) were tested on the Latent Cue Preference (LCP) task at 3 or 11 months of age. Additionally, 19 female rats were tested at 14 or 18 months of age. All rats were given four training trials in the LCP task using a three‐compartment box, during which the rats explored a water‐paired compartment and an unpaired compartment (each with a different visual cue) on consecutive days. Rats were then water‐deprived for 23 hr and given a compartment preference test, in which more time spent in the water‐paired compartment demonstrated latent learning. Results showed that 11‐month old males and 18‐month old females showed impaired latent learning, but 11‐ and 14‐month old females showed intact latent learning, which may possibly be due to the neuroprotective effects of estrogen. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 56: 1134–1141, 2014.