Developmental trajectory of episodic-like memory in rats
IntroductionEpisodic memory formation requires the binding of multiple associations to a coherent episodic representation, with rich detail of times, places, and contextual information. During postnatal development, the ability to recall episodic memories emerges later than other types of memory suc...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.969871/full |
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| author | Antonis Asiminas Antonis Asiminas Antonis Asiminas Antonis Asiminas Stephanie A. Lyon Rosamund F. Langston Emma R. Wood Emma R. Wood Emma R. Wood Emma R. Wood |
| author_facet | Antonis Asiminas Antonis Asiminas Antonis Asiminas Antonis Asiminas Stephanie A. Lyon Rosamund F. Langston Emma R. Wood Emma R. Wood Emma R. Wood Emma R. Wood |
| author_sort | Antonis Asiminas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionEpisodic memory formation requires the binding of multiple associations to a coherent episodic representation, with rich detail of times, places, and contextual information. During postnatal development, the ability to recall episodic memories emerges later than other types of memory such as object recognition. However, the precise developmental trajectory of episodic memory, from weaning to adulthood has not yet been established in rats. Spontaneous object exploration tasks do not require training, and allow repeated testing of subjects, provided novel objects are used on each trial. Therefore, these tasks are ideally suited for the study of the ontogeny of episodic memory and its constituents (e.g., object, spatial, and contextual memory).MethodsIn the present study, we used four spontaneous short-term object exploration tasks over two days: object (OR), object-context (OCR), object-place (OPR), and object-place-context (OPCR) recognition to characterise the ontogeny of episodic-like memory and its components in three commonly used outbred rat strains (Lister Hooded, Long Evans Hooded, and Sprague Dawley).ResultsIn longitudinal studies starting at 3–4 weeks of age, we observed that short term memory for objects was already present at the earliest time point we tested, indicating that it is established before the end of the third week of life (consistent with several other reports). Object-context memory developed during the fifth week of life, while both object-in-place and the episodic-like object-place-context memory developed around the seventh postnatal week. To control for the effects of previous experience in the development of associative memory, we confirmed these developmental trajectories using a cross-sectional protocol.DiscussionOur work provides robust evidence for different developmental trajectories of recognition memory in rats depending on the content and/or complexity of the associations and emphasises the utility of spontaneous object exploration tasks to assess the ontogeny of memory systems with high temporal resolution. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4059500523e34f54b6f6577d9b77ca0e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T07:42:44Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-4059500523e34f54b6f6577d9b77ca0e2022-12-22T04:36:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532022-11-011610.3389/fnbeh.2022.969871969871Developmental trajectory of episodic-like memory in ratsAntonis Asiminas0Antonis Asiminas1Antonis Asiminas2Antonis Asiminas3Stephanie A. Lyon4Rosamund F. Langston5Emma R. Wood6Emma R. Wood7Emma R. Wood8Emma R. Wood9Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomSimons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomPatrick Wild Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomCenter for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkCellular and Systems Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, United KingdomCellular and Systems Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, United KingdomCentre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomSimons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomPatrick Wild Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomCentre for Brain Development and Repair, Bengaluru, IndiaIntroductionEpisodic memory formation requires the binding of multiple associations to a coherent episodic representation, with rich detail of times, places, and contextual information. During postnatal development, the ability to recall episodic memories emerges later than other types of memory such as object recognition. However, the precise developmental trajectory of episodic memory, from weaning to adulthood has not yet been established in rats. Spontaneous object exploration tasks do not require training, and allow repeated testing of subjects, provided novel objects are used on each trial. Therefore, these tasks are ideally suited for the study of the ontogeny of episodic memory and its constituents (e.g., object, spatial, and contextual memory).MethodsIn the present study, we used four spontaneous short-term object exploration tasks over two days: object (OR), object-context (OCR), object-place (OPR), and object-place-context (OPCR) recognition to characterise the ontogeny of episodic-like memory and its components in three commonly used outbred rat strains (Lister Hooded, Long Evans Hooded, and Sprague Dawley).ResultsIn longitudinal studies starting at 3–4 weeks of age, we observed that short term memory for objects was already present at the earliest time point we tested, indicating that it is established before the end of the third week of life (consistent with several other reports). Object-context memory developed during the fifth week of life, while both object-in-place and the episodic-like object-place-context memory developed around the seventh postnatal week. To control for the effects of previous experience in the development of associative memory, we confirmed these developmental trajectories using a cross-sectional protocol.DiscussionOur work provides robust evidence for different developmental trajectories of recognition memory in rats depending on the content and/or complexity of the associations and emphasises the utility of spontaneous object exploration tasks to assess the ontogeny of memory systems with high temporal resolution.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.969871/fullspontaneous object explorationobject recognitioncontextobject-place-contextmemory ontogeny |
| spellingShingle | Antonis Asiminas Antonis Asiminas Antonis Asiminas Antonis Asiminas Stephanie A. Lyon Rosamund F. Langston Emma R. Wood Emma R. Wood Emma R. Wood Emma R. Wood Developmental trajectory of episodic-like memory in rats Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience spontaneous object exploration object recognition context object-place-context memory ontogeny |
| title | Developmental trajectory of episodic-like memory in rats |
| title_full | Developmental trajectory of episodic-like memory in rats |
| title_fullStr | Developmental trajectory of episodic-like memory in rats |
| title_full_unstemmed | Developmental trajectory of episodic-like memory in rats |
| title_short | Developmental trajectory of episodic-like memory in rats |
| title_sort | developmental trajectory of episodic like memory in rats |
| topic | spontaneous object exploration object recognition context object-place-context memory ontogeny |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.969871/full |
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