title: The effect of developmental vitamin D deficiency in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats on decision-making using a rodent gambling task.
abstract: Developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency is a plausible risk factor for schizophrenia that has been associated with behavioural alterations including disruptions in latent inhibition and response inhibition. The rodent gambling task (rGT) assesses risk-based decision-making, which is a key cognitive deficit observed in schizophrenia patients. The primary aim of this study was to examine risk-based decision-making in DVD-deficient and control rats on the rGT. We also evaluated the performance of female Sprague-Dawley rats on the rGT for the first time. Adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats from control and vitamin D deficient dams were trained to perform the rGT in standard operant chambers and their performance and choice-preferences were assessed. Female rats were significantly faster to reach rGT training criteria compared with male rats and DVD-deficient rats were faster to reach training criteria than control animals. After reaching stable performance on the rGT DVD-deficient and control rats showed a significant preference for the optimal choice-option in the rGT, but there were no significant effects of sex or diet on these responses. DVD deficiency did not alter the decision-making processes on the rGT because no significant changes in choice-preferences were evident. This is the first study to demonstrate that once established, the performance of females is comparable to male Sprague-Dawley rats on the rGT.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Peak
authors.affiliation: Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia; Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Wacol, Australia. Electronic address: t.burne@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: T H J
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Burne
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005717:Games, Experimental; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Cognition; Decision-making; Rat gambling task; Schizophrenia; Vitamin D