Rats recognize spatial and temporal attributes in a new object recognition memory task with multiple trials

Ana Paula de Castro Araujo; Jalles Dantas de Lucena; Davi Carvalho Drieskens; Lívia Rodrigues Neves; Karen Cristina Pugliane; Hindiael Aeraf Belchior; Rochele Castelo-Branco; Flávio Freitas Barbosa

doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2020.108936

Rats recognize spatial and temporal attributes in a new object recognition memory task with multiple trials

J Neurosci Methods. 2021 Jan 15:348:108936. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2020.108936. Epub 2020 Oct 3.

Authors

Ana Paula de Castro Araujo¹, Jalles Dantas de Lucena², Davi Carvalho Drieskens³, Lívia Rodrigues Neves³, Karen Cristina Pugliane¹, Hindiael Aeraf Belchior⁴, Rochele Castelo-Branco¹, Flávio Freitas Barbosa⁵

Affiliations

¹ Memory and Cognition Studies Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil.
² Memory and Cognition Studies Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil; Faculdade de Santa Maria, Cajazeiras, PB, Brazil.
³ Memory and Cognition Studies Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil; Brain Institute, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
⁴ Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde do Trairí, Universidade federal do Rio Grande do norte, Santa Cruz, RN, Brazil.
⁵ Memory and Cognition Studies Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil. Electronic address: barbosa.flaviof@gmail.com.

PMID: 33022303
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2020.108936

Abstract

Background: Episodic-like memory tasks based on the spontaneous exploration of objects are commonly applied in one-trial protocols. However, multiple-trial designs are known to reduce animal numbers and data variance, providing faster accumulation of data.

New method: In this study, we devised a new object recognition memory task for rats that carry out multiple trials per session. We developed three types of continual trial tasks: a longer protocol, a shorter protocol, and a protocol in which the experimental session was divided into two days.

Results: In our design, rats expressed temporal and spatial memory, but not what-where-when content integration. We found that shorter protocols were more efficient to evaluate memory capabilities.

Comparison with existing methods: To the best of our knowledge, it is the first object recognition task with multiple trials that simultaneously assess the temporal and spatial aspects of episodic-like memory.

Conclusions: We suggest that our task is suitable for the simultaneous measurements of brain functions related to spatial and temporal attributes in rats.

Keywords: Behavioral task; Episodic-like memory; Multiple trials; Object recognition memory; Rats.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Exploratory Behavior*
Rats
Recognition, Psychology*
Spatial Memory
Visual Perception