Isolation disrupts retention in preweanling rat pups.
Expression of an olfactory memory in 18-day-old rat pups was examined in eight experiments following brief manipulations of environmental conditions prior to a retention test. In the first experiment we found that retention was disrupted if a pup was placed in isolation for 3 hr prior to the retention test. The retention deficit persisted even when pups had 3-hr exposure to an anesthetized dam and siblings before testing. However, there was no deficit in retention if pups spent the pretest interval with a nonlactating foster dam, their father, or littermates. Finally, we found that this deficit in retention could be alleviated by cuing treatments that preceded the retention test following isolation. Both discrete cues used during training and returning the pup to the home cage with parents and siblings for 3 hr were found to alleviate the retention deficit caused by isolation. These data demonstrate that housing conditions can influence postacquisition memory processes in the young animal.
Arnold
H M
HM
Center for Developmental Psychobiology, Binghamton University, New York, USA.
Spear
N E
NE
D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D011939:Mental Recall; D051381:Rats; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012903:Smell; D012931:Social Environment; D012934:Social Isolation