Bucci D J, Chiba A A, Gallagher M
Curriculum in Neurobiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27599-3270, USA.
Behav Neurosci. 1995 Feb;109(1):180-3. doi: 10.1037//0735-7044.109.1.180.
Male and female Long-Evans rats were tested in the Morris water maze at 6 months of age. A place training procedure, in which rats learned the position of a camouflaged platform, was followed by cue training, in which rats escaped to a visible platform. No sex difference was found in place learning ability. Search accuracy on probe trials, when the platform was unavailable, was also equivalent for the male and female groups. These results contrast with previous studies of rodents at younger ages, which have reported a male advantage in spatial learning. It is suggested that the age at which rats are assessed may be an important factor, possibly reflecting a different course in the relatively protracted maturation of the hippocampus in male and female rats. The results of this investigation are also discussed with reference to studies of sex differences for spatial abilities in humans.
雄性和雌性Long-Evans大鼠在6个月大时接受了莫里斯水迷宫测试。首先进行位置训练，让大鼠学习隐藏平台的位置，随后进行线索训练，让大鼠逃向可见平台。在位置学习能力方面未发现性别差异。在平台不存在的探测试验中，雄性和雌性组的搜索准确性也相当。这些结果与之前对较年轻啮齿动物的研究形成对比，之前的研究报告称雄性在空间学习方面具有优势。研究表明，评估大鼠的年龄可能是一个重要因素，这可能反映了雄性和雌性大鼠海马体相对较长时间成熟过程中的不同进程。本研究结果还结合了人类空间能力性别差异的研究进行了讨论。
