Dose-Dependent Effects of Testosterone on Spatial Memory in Adult Male Rats, Poster 10

Testosterone levels are positively correlated with spatial memory, the ability to remember the locations of stimuli in the environment. This experiment investigates the dose-dependent effects of testosterone on spatial memory... [ view full abstract ]

Testosterone levels are positively correlated with spatial memory, the ability to remember the locations of stimuli in the environment. This experiment investigates the dose-dependent effects of testosterone on spatial memory using the object-location memory task (OLMT) in young adult male rats. All rats, with the exception of the sham group, were bilaterally castrated at the start of the experiment. Rats were divided into 6 treatment groups: sham oil, castrate oil, 0.125 mg, 0.250 mg, 0.500 mg, and 1.000 mg testosterone. Rats received a week of daily injections prior to the first day of OLMT testing, and injections were given daily throughout the testing period. The OLMT task assesses spatial memory by introducing objects that are later switched to different locations in the testing apparatus. Each rat performed the task twice, with an inter-trial period of 2 hours. Preliminary behavioral data suggests the optimal testosterone dose for this spatial task is 0.5 mg/rat. Blood samples were collected to assess serum testosterone levels by ELISA assay. This study has implications for androgen replacement therapies, and for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s Disease.