Organizational effects of early gonadal secretions on sexual differentiation in spatial memory.

Abstract

Neonatally castrated (MNC) and control male rats (MC) and female rats treated neonatally with estradiol benzoate (FNE) and female controls (FC) were studied. In Exp. 1 spatial memory was assessed using a 12-arm radial maze. During acquisition, MC and FNE groups were more accurate in choice behavior than FC and MNC groups. In Exp. 2 the discriminative control exerted by different types of cues was evaluated. Alteration of the geometry of the room but not movable landmarks disrupted performance of MC and FNE groups. For the FC and MNC groups, alteration of either geometry or landmarks did not disrupt performance. In Exp. 3 the effect of a 15-min delay was determined. MC and FNE groups were more disrupted by a delay than MNC and FC groups. Together, these data suggest that early exposure to gonadal steroids (probably estradiol) improves acquisition of spatial tasks by reorganizing and simplifying associational-perceptual processes that guide spatial ability.

Cites (53)

1. Untitled work
   1978 · UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona)
2. The psychology of sex differences
   1975 · Behavior Therapy
3. Hippocampus, space, and memory
   Olton, David S., Becker, James T., Handelmann, Gail E. · 1979 · Behavioral and Brain Sciences
4. Remembrance of places passed: Spatial memory in rats.
   Olton, David S., Samuelson, Robert J. · 1976 · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes
5. Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities
   Halpern, Diane F. · 2000 · Psychology Press eBooks
6. Sexual Differentiation of the Central Nervous System
   MacLusky, Neil J., Naftolin, Frederick · 1981 · Science
7. Human spatial abilities: Psychometric studies and environmental, genetic, hormonal, and neurological influences.
   McGee, Mark G. · 1979 · Psychological Bulletin
8. A purely geometric module in the rat's spatial representation
   Cheng, Ken · 1986 · Cognition
9. Sexual differentiation of the brain
   McEwen, Bruce S. · 1981 · Nature
10. Gonadal hormones and sex differences in nonreproductive behaviors in rodents: Organizational and activational influences
    Beatty, William W · 1979 · Hormones and Behavior

Show all 53 references

Cited by (30)

1. Sources of Flexibility in Human Cognition: Dual-Task Studies of Space and Language
   Hermer-Vazquez, Linda, Spelke, Elizabeth S., Katsnelson, Alla S. · 1999 · Cognitive Psychology
2. Effects of PCB exposure on neuropsychological function in children.
   Schantz, Susan L, Widholm, John J, Rice, Deborah C · 2003 · Environmental Health Perspectives
3. Meta-analysis of sex differences in rodent models of learning and memory: a review of behavioral and biological data
   Jonasson, Zachariah · 2005 · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
4. Sex differences in route-learning
   Galea, Liisa A.M., Kimura, Doreen · 1993 · Personality and Individual Differences
5. Estradiol and cognitive function: Past, present and future
   Luine, Victoria N. · 2014 · Hormones and Behavior

See all 532