Differences in Learning and Memory between middle- aged female and male rats *EN REVISIÓN*

HABIF, MARTIN; COLETTIS, NATALIA CLAUDIA; OBERHOLZER, MARÍA VICTORIA; FILIPPIN, FEDERICO; JERUSALINSKY, DIANA ALICIA

LEARNING & MEMORY (COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y.)

COLD SPRING HARBOR LAB PRESS

Lugar: New York; Año: 2021

1072-0502

We investigated sex-influence on cognitive functions, particularly short-term (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) in middle-aged Wistar rats. Habituation, locomotion, horizontal exploration, stereotypies, fear, and anxiety-like behavior in and open-field appeared similar in females and males, whilst vertical exploration was higher in females. Both evidenced STM and LTM discrimination of new vs. familiar objects. However, only females showed LTM for new location of a familiar object. Both showed LTM of inhibitory avoidance, though males were amnesic for memory persistence. Therefore, sex-dependent impairments in some cognitive functions at middle-age highlight the importance of sex-influence on interpreting learning and memory data.