SLEEP 2011 Abstract Supplement

A. Basic Science IX. Learning, Memory and Cognition
with the expectation that increased delay leads to decreased performance,
the recognition index for both strains decreased after a 24h delay
(64.4±4.2%) compared to a 1-minute delay (84.1±2.4%).
Conclusion: This study represents a novel approach to study cognitive
impairments in sleep apnea and demonstrates that BN rats, which express
more frequent sleep apneas, also exhibit short-term memory impairment.
Support (If Any): Supported by a grant through the University of Illinois
at Chicago Chancellor’s Discovery Fund.
0258
COMPARISON OF BEHAVIORAL METHODS FOR
ASSESSMENT OF WORKING MEMORY IN BROWN
NORWAY AND ZUCKER LEAN RATS
Ragozzino M 1 , Topchiy I 2,3 , Amodeo D 1 , Radulovacki M 4 , Carley DW 2,3
1
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago,
Chicago, IL, USA, 2 Center for Narcolepsy, Sleep and Health Research,
University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, 3 Department
of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA,
4
Department of Pharmacology, University of Illinois at Chicago,
Chicago, IL, USA
Introduction: We compared alternative methods for assessment of
learning and memory in Brown Norway (BN) rats which exhibit a high
apnea propensity during sleep, and Zucker Lean (ZL) rats which have
low levels of apnea.
Methods: Experiments were conducted in adult male BN (n=6) and ZL
(n=4) rats. In one testing paradigm, spatial cues were used to probe cognition.
Animals were initially allowed to freely explore a Y-shaped maze
for 12min. Spontaneous alternations between arms provided a measure
of working memory. Subsequently, we tested each rat’s ability to learn
and remember which arm of a 4-arm radial contained a food reward. For
the second paradigm, we used a novel object recognition test, in which a
rat was exposed to an object for 5 minutes. After a delay of either 1min
or 24h, the familiar object was paired with one new object and presented
again. The time spent in contact with novel object divided by total time
spent in contact with either object was calculated.
Results: The spontaneous alternation test showed impairment in BN rats
(45.9±2.7% alternation vs 71.8±3.7% in ZL, p