title: Timing behavior in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
abstract: There is evidence of deterioration of spatial cognition in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Here, we evaluate a possible dissociation in the cognitive deficits due to diabetes by examining another crucial aspect of animal cognition: temporal perception. Timing behavior and temporal memory were evaluated in STZ-induced diabetic rats employing two timing tasks: the peak-interval procedure, with its Gap variant, and the interval bisection task. A spatial memory task, rewarded alternation in the T-maze, was also evaluated to explore spatial cognition. The two timing tasks employed coincide in the finding of a normal timing performance in STZ-induced diabetic rats. The peak-interval procedure provided results that suggest that the timing behavior is equally accurate and precise than in control subjects; in the Gap procedure, an equal change in peak time in both groups indicates that temporal working memory is also intact. In the interval bisection task, we analyzed the acquisition of a temporal discrimination and the sensitivity to changes in the duration of the stimulus; no differences were found in either the acquisition process or the sensitivity index. In contrast, in the rewarded alternation task, STZ-induced diabetic rats exhibited a significant deficit in spatial cognition. The cognitive processes involved in timing behavior and temporal memory are not deteriorated as a consequence of diabetes; the cognitive deficits associated to diabetes thus seem to be restricted to the spatial domain.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F. 04510, Mexico. vladord@unam.mx
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Orduña
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouzas
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012201:Reward; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose