The influence of gender on the assessment of spatial learning and short-term memory formation in white laboratory rats of the Wistar line

Purpose: to study the influence of gender on the assessment of spatial learning and short-term memory formation in white laboratory rats of the Wistar line.
Materials and methods. 2 groups of Wistar rats weighing 180-250 g were selected for the experiment. In the course of the study, the protocol of the neurobehavioral test "eight-octave radial maze" was used to assess long-term/working and spatial memory. It consisted of 3 stages, lasting 16 (1st stage) and 11 minutes (2nd and 3rd stages). The obtained data from stages 2 and 3 were analyzed, and the overall memory score was calculated using the formula.
Results. According to the results of the experiment, it was revealed that after the 3rd stage of testing, the average score of short-term memory increased in all groups of rats, and the group of males showed better results in the average score of short-term and spatial memory than the group of females. The sexual trait has an impact on the formation of short-term and spatial memory, which may be associated with better development of the hippocampus in females, as well as faster habituation to changed environmental conditions, compared with males. Despite the addictive phase, animals from both groups showed signs of stress, which differed depending on the gender of the group. The group of females distinguished themselves by a large number of studied moves in one session, while making more mistakes than the group of males. The first group (males) spent most of the time during the second and third stages in a stupor in the central part of the maze, making no attempts to explore more than 1 branch of the maze.

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