Dietary choline manipulations and behavioural modifications in rats in the early stages of aging.
1. Behavioural effects of chronic manipulations of dietary choline in rats in the early stages of aging are reported. Rats were maintained on choline-deficient, low-choline and high-choline enriched diets. Two schedules of operant conditioning, representing "learning'h situations, plus an open field session were studied. 2. In the "temporal discrimination" test, the low-choline enriched group performed significantly better than controls while the deficient-choline group worse. The high-choline enriched group performed better than controls only in the second part of the test (where there was a stabilisation in behaviour). 3. In the "extinction" trials the high-choline enriched group retarded, while deficient-choline accelerated the extinction. In the open field sessions only the deficient-choline group, for the number of squares crossed, significantly differed from controls. 4. These observations lead us to suggest a general depressive effect in the rats on a choline-deficient diet, whereas with dietary choline supplements the effects on "learning" situations can be variable depending, on a large measure, on the test chosen.
Fundarò
A
A
Institute of Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Turin, Italy.
Paschero
A
A
D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D002794:Choline / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002796:Choline Deficiency / Q000523:psychology; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects; D004032:Diet; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D002794:Choline