T-maze learning in weanling lambs.
Dev Psychobiol
; 54(8): 785-97, 2012 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22213425
ABSTRACT
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.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Percepção Espacial
/
Comportamento Espacial
/
Aprendizagem em Labirinto
/
Memória
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Dev Psychobiol
Ano de publicação:
2012
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos