Animal Core- The responsibilities of the Animal Core are 5-fold: (1) To coordinate the purchase andnumbering of young and aged rats and monkeys for all four Projects; (2) To train rats and monkeys on theappropriate cognitive tasks (Projects 1, 2 and 4); (3) To perform neural implant aseptic surgeries formonkeys used in electrophysiological studies (Project 1), and rats receiving viral transfections in prefrontalcortex (Project 2); (4) To perform cognitive assessment of rats (Projects 2 and 4) and monkeys (Project 4) inorder to evaluate the effects of viral transfection or chronic drug treatment; and (5) To assist with chronicdrug treatment (Project 4). Cognitive testing will include several tests of spatial working memory. For Project1, young and aged monkeys will be habituated to sitting in a primate chair while interacting with a computermonitor. They will then be trained on the oculomotor spatial delayed response task. Training aged monkeysto perform this task requires patience, but is feasible if done gradually. Projects 2 and 4 will require trainingof young and aged rats on the spatial delayed alternation task in a T maze. A separate group of rats will alsobe trained on a control task, spatial discrimination, in the same T maze, to examine the specificity of viralmanipulations in prefrontal cortex on cognitive function. Finally, young and aged monkeys in Project 4 will betrained and tested on spatial delayed response in a Wisconsin General Test Apparatus, a classical test ofdorsolateral prefrontal cortical function. Animals in chronic drug studies will be tested twice weekly. Theexperimenter testing the animals will be unware of the drug or viral treatment conditions. Cognitive data willbe submitted to the Administrative Core for statistical analysis, to examine the relationships betweencognitive, histological and /or biochemical data. LAY SUMMARY: The Animal Core will train and test youngand aged animals on memory tasks. We will see if drugs or molecular manipulations in the brain of rats willslow the aging process and improve memory.
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