Reliability, distribution, and validity of age-related cognitive deficits in the Morris water maze
Reliability, distribution, and validity of age-related cognitive deficits in the Morris water maze
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DOI：
10.1006/nlme.1997.3782
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发表时间：
1997-11-01
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Lindner, MD
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lindner, MD
在本研究中，对1.5至26个月龄的F-344大鼠进行了参考记忆版本、移动平台重复获取版本和线索平台版本的Morris水迷宫测试。结果表明：(1)在水迷宫中的表现从最小的年龄开始持续下降，并且非常接近线性函数：(2)个体之间在Morris水迷宫中的表现存在稳健可靠的差异，但按时间顺序的年龄只解释了个体之间的一小部分差异；(3)没有证据表明老年大鼠呈双峰分布--没有特定的个体亚群表现得如此糟糕，以至于他们在质量上与大多数人群不同，而且“受损”和“未受损”受试者之间的区别必须基于随机的标准，而这些标准在一项又一项研究中可能不一致；(4)Morris水迷宫中与年龄有关的缺陷可能不仅限于学习和记忆，还可能包括注意力缺陷、处理空间信息的能力和/或制定有效空间搜索策略的能力；(5)在Morris水迷宫中，游泳距离是最合适的认知功能测量，但该测量与其他非认知功能测量之间的关系表明，游泳距离可能不是纯粹的认知功能测量。尽管Morris水迷宫仍然是一项有价值的临床前测试，比许多其他行为测试具有更好的效度和特异性，但Morris水迷宫中的操作指标不应被视为认知功能的同义词。(C)1997年学术出版社。
In the present study, F-344 rats throughout 1.5 to 26 months of age were tested in the reference memory version, a moving-platform repeated acquisition version, and in a cued platform version of the Morris water maze. The results suggest that: (1) performance in the water maze declines continuously, beginning at the earliest age, and very closely fits a linear function; (2) there are robust, reliable differences between individuals in terms of their performance in the Morris water maze, but chronological age accounts for only a fraction of the variance between individuals; (3) there is no evidence of a bimodal distribution among aged rats-there is no distinct subgroup of individuals that performs so poorly that they are qualitatively different from the majority of the population, and distinctions between 'impaired'' and ''unimpaired'' subjects must be based on arbitrary criteria that may not be consistent from one study to the next; (4) age-related deficits in the Morris water maze may not be restricted to learning and memory, but may also include deficits in attention, the ability to process spatial information, and/or the ability to develop efficient spatial search strategies; and (5) swim distance is the most appropriate measure of cognitive function in the Morris water maze, but the relationship between this measure and other measures of noncognitive function make it clear that swim distance may not be a pure measure of cognitive function. Although the Morris water maze remains a valuable preclinical test with better validity and specificity than many other behavioral tests, measures of performance in the Morris water maze should not be considered synonymous with cognitive function. (C) 1997 Academic Press.