Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Motherhood, Memory And Aging : Object Recognition Performance, Julia Margaret Friedenberg

Master's Theses

Reproductively experienced female rats have been shown to have attenuated stress responses, improved visual systems, and better memory and learning. This study sought to extend those findings by comparing aged reproductively experienced and aged virgin female rats on an object recognition task, as well as comparing levels of corticosterone and 17p-estradiol and neural activation. Multiparous (MP, 2 reproductive experiences) females performed better on the task and demonstrated quicker habituation to the task than nulliparous (NP, no reproductive experiences) females. No hormonal or neural activation differences were found. The present study contributes to the growing research areas of reproductive experience and …