Journal
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
Volume 151, Issue 1-2, Pages 219-224Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2003.08.017
Keywords
aversive stimuli; Arctic ground squirrels; learning and memory; active avoidance task
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Funding
- NINDS NIH HHS [NS40169] Funding Source: Medline
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The present study was designed to assess effects of aversive stimuli on learning and memory in wild-caught Arctic ground squirrels (AGS, Spermophilus parryii) using an active avoidance learning paradigm. Results indicate that animals trained with low-value aversive stimuli (air puffs and lights) retained the task better than animals trained with high-value aversive stimuli (air puffs, lights, and foot shock). Poor retention could not be explained by learning impairment, fear-induced freezing behavior or the effects of massed versus spaced training trials. Wild-caught AGS readily hibernate under laboratory conditions and provide a model of pronounced adult synaptic plasticity associated with emergence from hibernation. Characterization of learning and retention using active avoidance as well as other learning paradigms is a first step towards developing behavioral paradigms to assess cognitive function in this wild-trapped species. The present study shows that captive AGS are sensitive to aversive stimuli, argues for a direct effect on retention and suggests that high baseline levels of stress in a captive population may influence behavioral measures. The results further suggest that future studies of the effects of hibernation on learning and retention of active avoidance tasks employ low-level aversive stimuli. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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