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Pre- and postnatal choline supplementation produces long-term facilitation of spatial memory.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Meck, WH; Smith, RA; Williams, CL
Published in: Developmental psychobiology
May 1988

Although research has demonstrated that short-term improvement in memory function of adult rats can occur when the availability of precursors for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine is increased, little is known about whether memory function of adult rats can be permanently altered by precursor supplementation during early development. In the present study, male albino rats were exposed to choline chloride supplementation both prenatally (through the diet of pregnant rats) and postnatally (subcutaneous injections). At 60 days of age rats were tested on a 12- and 18-arm radial maze task. Results indicated that compared to control littermates, perinatal choline-treated rats showed more accurate performance on both working and reference memory components of the task. This performance difference was apparent on the first block of sessions and continued throughout training. Further analysis revealed that the difference between choline and control rats is not due to use of differential response or cue-use strategies. Instead, it appears that choline induced performance differences are due to long-term enhancement of spatial memory capacity and precision.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Developmental psychobiology

DOI

EISSN

1098-2302

ISSN

0012-1630

Publication Date

May 1988

Volume

21

Issue

4

Start / End Page

339 / 353

Related Subject Headings

  • Rats, Inbred Strains
  • Rats
  • Problem Solving
  • Pregnancy
  • Orientation
  • Mental Recall
  • Memory
  • Male
  • Female
  • Discrimination Learning
 

Citation

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Meck, W. H., Smith, R. A., & Williams, C. L. (1988). Pre- and postnatal choline supplementation produces long-term facilitation of spatial memory. Developmental Psychobiology, 21(4), 339–353. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.420210405
Meck, W. H., R. A. Smith, and C. L. Williams. “Pre- and postnatal choline supplementation produces long-term facilitation of spatial memory.Developmental Psychobiology 21, no. 4 (May 1988): 339–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.420210405.
Meck WH, Smith RA, Williams CL. Pre- and postnatal choline supplementation produces long-term facilitation of spatial memory. Developmental psychobiology. 1988 May;21(4):339–53.
Meck, W. H., et al. “Pre- and postnatal choline supplementation produces long-term facilitation of spatial memory.Developmental Psychobiology, vol. 21, no. 4, May 1988, pp. 339–53. Epmc, doi:10.1002/dev.420210405.
Meck WH, Smith RA, Williams CL. Pre- and postnatal choline supplementation produces long-term facilitation of spatial memory. Developmental psychobiology. 1988 May;21(4):339–353.
Journal cover image

Published In

Developmental psychobiology

DOI

EISSN

1098-2302

ISSN

0012-1630

Publication Date

May 1988

Volume

21

Issue

4

Start / End Page

339 / 353

Related Subject Headings

  • Rats, Inbred Strains
  • Rats
  • Problem Solving
  • Pregnancy
  • Orientation
  • Mental Recall
  • Memory
  • Male
  • Female
  • Discrimination Learning