PERFORMANCE (REACQUISITION) OF A WATER-MAZE TASK BY ADULT MEADOW VOLES - EFFECTS OF AGE OF INITIAL TASK ACQUISITION AND IN-UTERO ENVIRONMENT (LITTER SEX-RATIO)

被引:17
作者
GALEA, LAM [1 ]
OSSENKOPP, KP [1 ]
KAVALIERS, M [1 ]
机构
[1] UNIV WESTERN ONTARIO, NEUROSCI PROGRAM, LONDON N6A 5C2, ON, CANADA
基金
加拿大自然科学与工程研究理事会;
关键词
SPATIAL ABILITY; LITTER SEX-RATIO; MEADOW VOLE; WATER-MAZE; JUVENILE; ANDROGEN; IN UTERO ENVIRONMENT;
D O I
10.1016/0166-4328(94)90089-2
中图分类号
B84 [心理学]; C [社会科学总论]; Q98 [人类学];
学科分类号
03 ; 0303 ; 030303 ; 04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
Previous research in this laboratory has shown that preweaning and postweaning juvenile meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, can acquire a spatial task, the Morris water-maze task. The present study examined the influence of age of juvenile acquisition (''before weaning'' (BW; Day 10 and 15 after birth) and ''after weaning'' (AW; Day 20 and 25 after birth)) of a spatial task on subsequent re-acquisition of the same hidden-platform spatial water-maze task. This study also compared sex differences and litter sex-ratio effects on reacquisition performance. Fifteen litters of adults were re-tested in the same water maze 6 weeks after being initially tested as juveniles. All analyses were conducted using a covariate that removed the group differences in the original task performance. Adult voles from female-biased litters, that had previously learned the task at an older juvenile age (AW), reacquired the same task faster than adults that had previously learned the task at a younger juvenile age (BW). In the adult BW group there was also a significant litter sex-ratio effect such that voles born into a female-biased litter re-acquired the task more slowly than did voles born into a male-biased litter. There were no significant sex or litter sex-ratio effects on spatial learning in the AW group. These results show that adult meadow voles can reacquire a spatial task more quickly if they initially learned the task al an older juvenile age, suggestive of a period of infantile amnesia. In addition, these results indicate that the litter sex-ratio can affect adult spatial performance, suggesting that the relative amount of androgens in utero may influence the development of sexually-dimorphic spatial ability in adulthood.
引用
收藏
页码:177 / 185
页数:9
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