A new automated method to assess the rat recognition memory: validation of the method

During the last decade, the rodent object recognition memory task had gained popularity in the field of pharmacological studies, and has been proposed as a useful method to evaluate the efficacy of memory enhancing compounds. In this context, it is important to establish reliable and automated methods with high throughput to evaluate recognition memory in the rat. When performed in a Y-maze apparatus, object recognition has been described to be less dependent on spatial information, and we here report a new method to assess novelty discrimination in a Y-maze apparatus recorded via automated video tracking. During the development of the method, many parameters were recorded and some were selected as being the most reliable, i.e. time spent in the distal half-arms during the first 2min of the test. The method was then validated under memory deficit conditions produced by a pharmacological treatment (scopolamine) and a long retention delay (72h) between the sample and the test. The time-induced deficit was prevented by administration of a M1 positive allosteric modulator, BQCA at a dose of 10mg/kg. Altogether, our data show that the novelty discrimination task performed in a Y-maze apparatus is a reliable method to assess the recognition memory of the rat. This new automated method is as sensitive as the classical object recognition test, and provides advantages such as easily definable parameters and the possibility to use an automated video tracking system that makes the measurement independent of the investigator.