Serial pattern learning in senescent rats: a comparison of acquisition performance with young and hippocampal-lesioned rats.
The acquisition of a serial pattern was assessed in young (3-month), senescent (24-month), and hippocampal-lesioned rats. All animals were trained for 25 days on a four-element, nonmonotonic pattern consisting of 14, 0, 3, and 7 food pellets, respectively. Young rats were capable of distinguishing among the elements of the series, with the exception of the 3- and 7-pellet elements, as indexed by running times. Conversely, the senescent rats were largely incapable of patterned responding, and the tracking performance of the hippocampal-lesioned rats was intermediate between those of the young and old rats. Results are discussed in terms of the possible changes that accompany aging in rodents, including age-related changes in the hippocampal system.
Compton
D M
DM
Department of Psychology Georgia College, Milledgeville 31061, USA. dcompton@mail.gac.peachnet.edu
Bishop
J T
JT
Dietrich
K L
KL
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007858:Learning; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley