Contribution of the Roman strains of rats to the elaboration of animal models of memory.

Performances of male rats of the Roman High (RHA)- and Roman Low (RLA)-Avoidance strains were compared along four essential dimensions: working memory, reference memory, spontaneous locomotion and avoidance conditioning. Performances of RLA and RHA rats were significantly different for each dimension. As constantly reported, RHA rats were by far superior to RLA in avoidance conditioning. They had also higher levels of locomotor activity. On the opposite, RLA performed better than RHA in an appetitive working memory task, the delayed reinforced alternation, and were also superior in an appetitive reference memory task, the 5-unit linear maze. These results confirm the fact that RLA rats may acquire positively reinforced learning more rapidly than RHA rats and that the differences in active avoidance behavior between the two strains depend more on differential freezing behavior than on learning or memory capacities. Beyond the problem of the characterization of the Roman strains, these data might give indications on the relationships between behavioral tests widely used in rats, and on their use as memory models.