Frussa-Filho R, Otoboni J R, Uema F T, Sá-Rocha L C
Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, Brasil.
Braz J Med Biol Res. 1991;24(7):725-8.
Twenty young (5 months) and 20 old (20-24 months) male Wistar rats, isolated or group housed, were tested in the elevated plus-maze to evaluate memory and anxiety. Memory was quantified by transfer latency (the time it took for the rat to move from the open arm to the enclosed arm) and anxiety by percent entries into the open arms. Isolation decreased the transfer latency of old (session 1 = 119.33 +/- 0.44 s; session 3 = 49.67 +/- 12.12 s) and young (session 1 = 111.20 +/- 8.80 s; session 3 = 55.90 +/- 13.60 s) rats, but did not modify percent entries into the open arms (old-isolated = 5.56 +/- 5.56; old-group housed = 10.18 +/- 7.05; young-isolated = 35.16 +/- 8.98; young-group housed = 33.21 +/- 8.11). Conversely, aging decreased percent entries into the open arms but did not affect the transfer latency of isolated or group-housed animals. The results indicate that the plus-maze test, unlike other methods for memory evaluation, does not discriminate between young and old rats. They also suggest that age increases anxiety and that isolation increases memory levels, but that there is no interaction between age and isolation with regard to their effect on memory and anxiety in rats.
20只年轻（5个月）和20只年老（20 - 24个月）的雄性Wistar大鼠，单独饲养或群居，在高架十字迷宫中进行测试以评估记忆和焦虑。记忆通过转移潜伏期（大鼠从开放臂移动到封闭臂所需的时间）进行量化，焦虑通过进入开放臂的百分比进行量化。单独饲养降低了年老（第1次测试 = 119.33 +/- 0.44秒；第3次测试 = 49.67 +/- 12.12秒）和年轻（第1次测试 = 111.20 +/- 8.80秒；第3次测试 = 55.90 +/- 13.60秒）大鼠的转移潜伏期，但未改变进入开放臂的百分比（年老 - 单独饲养 = 5.56 +/- 5.56；年老 - 群居 = 10.18 +/- 7.05；年轻 - 单独饲养 = 35.16 +/- 8.98；年轻 - 群居 = 33.21 +/- 8.11）。相反，衰老降低了进入开放臂的百分比，但不影响单独饲养或群居动物的转移潜伏期。结果表明，与其他记忆评估方法不同，十字迷宫测试无法区分年轻和年老的大鼠。结果还表明，年龄增加焦虑，单独饲养增加记忆水平，但在对大鼠记忆和焦虑的影响方面，年龄和单独饲养之间没有相互作用。
