The effects of long-term ovariectomy and estrogen replacement therapy on learning and memory in monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).
This study determined the effects of estrogen loss and replacement therapy on learning and memory function in monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). The ability to learn, remember, and perform reversals of object discriminations and the accuracy on a spatial delayed response task were found to be comparable in young adult surgically menopausal monkeys receiving estrogen or placebo treatment for 5 or 16 months. Learning and memory abilities were comparable with baseline values following 2, 12, or 24 months of ovariectomy in monkeys. Pre- and postoperative injections of scopolamine in a subset of monkeys revealed only subtle increases in sensitivity on the delayed response task following ovariectomy. These observations in surgically menopausal monkeys have some parallels with those made in surgically menopausal women and suggest that, in the absence of other confounding factors, certain aspects of learning and memory may not be influenced by estrogen in primates.
Voytko
M L
ML
Department of Pathology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1040, USA. mlvoytko@wfubmc.edu
D000818:Animals; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D004343:Drug Implants; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects*; D009949:Orientation / Q000187:drug effects*; D010052:Ovariectomy; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000187:drug effects*; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects; D012193:Reversal Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology
D004343:Drug Implants; D004967:Estrogens; D004958:Estradiol; D012601:Scopolamine