The Canine Sand Maze: An Appetitive Spatial Memory Paradigm Sensitive to Age-Related Change in Dogs

Autor/inn/en	Salvin, Hannah E.; McGreevy, Paul D.; Sachdev, Perminder S.; Valenzuela, Michael J.
Titel	The Canine Sand Maze: An Appetitive Spatial Memory Paradigm Sensitive to Age-Related Change in Dogs
Quelle	In: Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 95 (2011) 1, S.109-118 (10 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-5002
Schlagwörter	Alzheimers Disease; Memory; Rewards; Cognitive Ability; Animals; Age Differences; Aging (Individuals); Visual Perception; Spatial Ability; Habituation; Comparative Analysis; Experimental Psychology + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Gedächtnis; Reward; Belohnung; Denkfähigkeit; Animal; Tier; Tiere; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Aging; Altern; Visuelle Wahrnehmung; Räumliches Vorstellungsvermögen; Experimentelle Psychologie
Abstract	Aged dogs exhibit a spectrum of cognitive abilities including a syndrome similar to Alzheimer's disease. A major impediment to research so far has been the lack of a quick and accurate test of visuospatial memory appropriate for community-based animals. We therefore report on the development and validation of the Canine Sand Maze. A 4.5-m-diameter circular pool was filled with sand and powdered food reward mix to a depth of 10 cm. Dogs were given 4 habituation and 16 learning trials which alternated a food reward being half (control trials) or fully-buried (acquisition trials) in a fixed location. After a 90-min break, a probe trial was conducted. Cognitively normal, aged (greater than 8 years, n = 11) and young (1-4 years, n = 11), breed-matched dogs were compared. After correction for differences in control trials, average probe times were 2.97 and 10.81 s for young and aged dogs, respectively. In the probe trial, both groups spent significantly more time in the target quadrant but there was a trend for young dogs to cross a 1 m[superscript 2] annulus zone around the buried reward more frequently (2.6 times) than aged dogs (1.5 times). Test-retest reliability in a subset of young dogs (n = 5) was high. On the basis of these findings, the Canine Sand Maze is presented as a quick, sensitive and nonaversive tool for assessing spatial learning and reference memory in dogs. (Contains 7 figures.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Available from: Indiana University Department of Psychology. Bloomington, IN 47405-1301. Tel: 812-334-0395; FAX: 812-855-4691; e-mail: jeab@indiana.edu; Web site: http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jeab/index.html
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10