Hypothermia-induced retrograde amnesia in young and adult Swiss mice

Abstract

To determine whether young and adult mice were capable of recovery from hypothermia-induced retrograde amnesia, mice at 16, 25, and 100 days of age received shock for crossing from a white to a black chamber in a one-trial passive avoidance paradigm. An equal number of mice at each age received no shock for making the crossover response. Following training, half the mice in each training group received exposure to hypothermia by immersion to the neck in a cold water bath, and the remaining half were suspended over an empty water bath. All mice were given one additional daily trial for the next 6 days in the avoidance chamber, but shock was never presented. The results indicated that both young and old mice were rendered equally amnestic by the hypothermia treatment. In addition, there was no evidence of recovery from the retrograde amnesia at any age. Possible reasons for the failure to obtain recovery are discussed.

Intertrial interval manipulations and passive avoidance retention in young Long‐Evans hooded rats

“…Because passive avoidance procedures generally produce a rapid change in behavior, they often have been used to examine memory phenomena such as retrograde amnesia (Nagy & Martin, 1993) and infantile amnesia (e.g., Flint, Bunsey, & Riccio, 1999). Typically with passive avoidance, the organism is punished for making a particular response.…”