title: The effects of aging in rats on working and reference memory performance in a spatial holeboard discrimination task.
abstract: The effects of aging on spatial memory performance of rats was studied in a holeboard task in which 4 of 16 holes were baited with food. Brown-Norway rats of five ages (4, 13, 19, 25, and 30 months) received a total of 80 acquisition trials. A clear age-related decline of spatial working and reference memory performance was found. The decline was most profound between 19 and 25 months of age. The speed of visiting holes and the development of a preferred pattern of hole-visits did not influence spatial discrimination performance. Correlational analysis supported the view that the working and reference memory measures represent distinct aspects of spatial memory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology and Psychobiology, University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: van der Staay
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Nies
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Raaijmakers
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D001288:Attention; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D009949:Orientation; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D012153:Retention, Psychology