Validation of a rodent model of episodic memory |
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Authors: | Wenyi Zhou Jonathon D Crystal |
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Institution: | (1) University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA;(2) Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; |
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Abstract: | Episodic memory consists of representations of specific episodes that happened in the past. Modeling episodic memory in animals
requires careful examination of alternative explanations of performance. Putative evidence of episodic-like memory may be
based on encoding failure or expectations derived from well-learned semantic rules. In Experiment 1, rats were tested in a
radial maze with study and test phases separated by a retention interval. The replenishment of chocolate (at its study-phase
location) depended on two factors: time of day (morning vs. afternoon) and the presence or absence of chocolate pellets at
the start of the test phase. Because replenishment could not be decoded until the test phase, rats were required to encode
the study episode. Success in this task rules out encoding failure. In Experiment 2, two identical mazes in different rooms
were used. Chocolate replenishment was trained in one room, and then they were asked to report about a recent event in a different
room, where they had no expectation that the memory assessment would occur. Rats successfully answered the unexpected question,
ruling out use of expectations derived from well-learned semantic rules. Our behavioral methods for modeling episodic memory
may have broad application for assessments of genetic, neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological bases of both
episodic memory and memory disorders such as those that occur in Alzheimer’s disease. |
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