Elsevier

Hormones and Behavior

Volume 39, Issue 2, March 2001, Pages 167-174
Hormones and Behavior

Regular Article
Gonadectomy Impairs T-Maze Acquisition in Adult Male Rats

https://doi.org/10.1006/hbeh.2001.1645Get rights and content

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that chronic gonadectomy increases the density of dopaminergic axons in prefrontal but not sensorimotor cortices in adult male rats. Since supranormal prefrontal cortical dopamine stimulation is known to impair rats' performance in T-maze delayed alternation paradigms, we tested whether long-term gonadectomy might also impair T-maze performance. For comparison, sensorimotor functions were also assessed. Adult male rats were gonadectomized and placebo-, estradiol-, or testosterone propionate-treated or were sham operated and placebo-treated. Four weeks after surgery, the subjects were tested using a rotorod apparatus and in the acquisition of a T-maze delayed alternation paradigm. Gonadectomized placebo-treated and estradiol-treated rats took significantly longer to acquire the T-maze rule than controls, and gonadectomized, testosterone-treated rats acquired the task within the same time frame as controls. No group differences were detected in rotorod performance. Thus, chronic gonadectomy induced testosterone-sensitive, estradiol-insensitive acquisition deficits in a spatial learning task but had no demonstrable effects on the sensorimotor functions tested.

References (39)

  • R.W. Stackman et al.

    Stability of spatial working memory across the estrous cycle of Long–Evans rats

    Neurobiol. Learning Memory

    (1997)
  • J.P. Tassin et al.

    Relationship between the locomotor hyperactivity induced by A10 lesions and the destruction of the fronto-cortical dopaminergic innervation in the rat

    Brain Res.

    (1978)
  • F. Van Haaren et al.

    Behavioral differences between male and female rats: Effects of gonadal hormones on learning and memory

    Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev.

    (1990)
  • A. Van Hest et al.

    Memory in male and female Wistar rats: Effects of gonadectomy and stimulus presentations during the delay interval

    Behav. Brain Res.

    (1988)
  • W.W. Beatty

    Hormonal organization of sex differences in play fighting and spatial behavior

    Prog. Brain Res.

    (1984)
  • G.N.O. Brito et al.

    Prelimbic cortex, mediodorsal thalamus, septum, and delayed alternation in rats

    Exp. Brain Res.

    (1982)
  • K. Christiansen et al.

    Sex hormones and cognitive functioning in men

    Neuropsychobiology

    (1987)
  • A.Y. Deutch

    Prefrontal cortical dopamine systems and the elaboration of functional corticostriatal circuits: Implications for schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease

    J. Neural Transm.

    (1993)
  • B. Doar et al.

    Tactile–visual acquisition and reversal learning deficits in rats with prefrontal cortical lesions

    Exp. Brain Res.

    (1987)
  • Cited by (0)

    1

    To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: (631) 632-6661. E-mail: [email protected].

    View full text