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Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats differ in their spatial navigation performance during ontogeny and at maturity.

J Tonkiss1, P Shultz, J R Galler

  • 1Center for Behavioral Development and Mental Retardation Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts 02118.

Developmental Psychobiology
|December 1, 1992
PubMed
Summary
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Long-Evans rats demonstrate superior spatial navigation compared to Sprague-Dawley rats in the Morris maze, particularly during early development. This suggests strain-specific differences in spatial learning abilities.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Animal Models

Background:

  • The Morris maze is crucial for assessing spatial navigation.
  • Previous studies were limited to pigmented rats, hindering developmental research in albino strains.
  • Understanding strain-specific spatial abilities is vital for accurate research interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare spatial learning and memory development in albino Sprague-Dawley and pigmented Long-Evans rats.
  • To investigate potential visuo-perceptual differences influencing maze performance.
  • To establish the utility of the Morris maze for developmental studies across different rat strains.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Morris maze to test Sprague-Dawley and Long-Evans rats at various postnatal ages (Days 20-27 and Day 90).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Assessed escape latency, swim distance, and probe trial accuracy (platform localization).
  • Conducted a proximal-cue version experiment to differentiate spatial learning from visuo-perceptual abilities.

    • Main Results:

    • Long-Evans rats exhibited shorter escape latencies and swim distances than Sprague-Dawley rats during Days 20-25 and at Day 90.
    • No significant performance difference was observed between strains in the proximal-cue version, ruling out visuo-perceptual deficits.
    • Long-Evans rats showed more accurate platform localization in probe trials.

    Conclusions:

    • Pigmented Long-Evans rats possess enhanced spatial learning capabilities compared to albino Sprague-Dawley rats.
    • The observed performance differences are attributed to intrinsic spatial learning variations, not visuo-perceptual disparities.
    • This study validates the Morris maze for developmental research across rat strains, highlighting the importance of strain selection.