Sex differences in learning and performing the Go/NoGo tasks

Abstract

Background The quality of learning and post-learning performances is critical for daily life. The behavioral flexibility is equally important for adapting the changing circumstances. The learning process requires repeated practices, which enhances prompt and proper behavioral responses, in turn, which promotes habits formation as well. Despite the well-documented sex differences in learning and performances, contradictory results were reported. A possible cause might be a systematic analysis due to specific research interests, regardless of the continuity of natural acquisition process. Here, we investigate the potential sex differences in learning, performances and adjustments of habited behaviors with regular and reversal Go/NoGo tasks. Methods Both male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. All rats were trained for a regular rodent Go/NoGo task and a subset of rats were trained for a reversal rodent Go/NoGo task, both with strict elimination criteria. The behavioral performance data were stored in PC for off-line analysis. Multiple behavioral indices were analyzed for both passed and retired rats. Results The ability of learning the regular the reversal Go/NoGo tasks was similar for both male and female rats, however, the female rats took longer time to master the task principles in later stages for both tasks. In the regular Go/NoGo task, the female rats spent more time on completing the trial in performance optimization phases, which implied female rats were more cautious than male rats. Along with the progression of training, both male and female rats developed Go-preference strategies to perform the regular Go/NoGo task, which induced failure to meet the setting success criteria. The retired male rats exhibited shorter RTs and MTs than the retired female rats after developing Go-preference. Moreover, the time needed to complete the Go trials was significantly prolonged for male rats in the reversal Go/NoGo task. Conclusions Overall, we conclude that distinctive strategies were employed in performing Go/NoGo tasks for both male and female rats. Male rats required less time to stabilize the performance in behavioral optimization phase. In addition, male rats were more accurate in estimating time elapsing. In contrast, female rats took more cautious considerations in performing the task, through which minimal influences were manifested in the reversal version of task.

Functional states of prelimbic and related circuits during the acquisition of a GO/noGO task in rats

“…Results presented in Fig. 3 were similar to those previously reported for male rats using a similar GO/noGO task (Zhang et al, 2023).…”

A longitudinal electrophysiological and behavior dataset for PD rat in response to deep brain stimulation

“…The movement was recorded by a high-definition camera above the device, the amount and duration of movement were calculated using Tracking Master 3.0 video behavior analysis software (Shanghai fanbi Smart Technology Co., Ltd). Repeated tests may cause the rats to form habits, and thus result in reduced behavioral flexibility 38 . The open-field tests were performed with one-week interval as current studies 39 , 40 to more truly reflect the rats’ behavior variations among different groups.…”