1. Low levels of estradiol facilitate, whereas high levels of estradiol impair, working memory performance on the radial arm maze
- Author
-
Holmes, Melissa M., Wide, Jennifer K., and Galea, Liisa A.M.
- Subjects
Estradiol -- Physiological aspects ,Estradiol -- Research ,Memory -- Physiological aspects ,Memory -- Research ,Health ,Psychology and mental health - Abstract
Previous investigations of estradiol's effects on learning and memory yielded equivocal results. This study was designed to determine whether these inconsistencies were due to dose-dependent effects of estradiol on different memory processes. Ovariectomized female rats were injected daily with estradiol benzoate (EB; 0.32, 1.00, or 5.00 [micro]g) or vehicle. Approximately 3 hr after injection, rats were run on a hippocampus-dependent working/reference memory version of the radial arm maze. Total number of working (WME), reference, and combined working/reference memory errors were scored. Compared with vehicle, 1.00 or 5.00 [micro]g EB (high physiological) impaired performance by increasing the number of WME, whereas 0.32 [micro]g EB (low physiological) facilitated performance by decreasing the number of WME. Taken together, these data demonstrate a dose-dependent effect of EB on working memory.
- Published
- 2002