NDLI: Reversal learning in gonadectomized marmosets with and without hormone replacement: are males more sensitive to punishment?

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	LaClair, Matthew Lacreuse, Agnès
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	This study examined sex differences in executive function in middle-aged gonadectomized marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) with or without hormonal replacement. We tested ten castrated male (mean age 5.5 years) marmosets treated with testosterone cypionate (T, n = 5) or vehicle (n = 5) on Reversal Learning, which contributes to cognitive flexibility, and the Delayed Response task, measuring working memory. Their performance was compared to that of 11 ovariectomized females (mean age = 3.7 years) treated with Silastic capsules filled with 17-β estradiol (E2, n = 6) or empty capsules (n = 5), previously tested on the same tasks (Lacreuse et al. in J Neuroendocrinol 26:296–309, 2014. doi: 10.1111/jne.12147 ). Behavioral observations were conducted daily. Females exhibited more locomotor behaviors than males. Males and females did not differ in the number of trials taken to reach criterion on the reversals, but males had significantly longer response latencies, regardless of hormone replacement. They also had a greater number of refusals than females. Additionally, both control and T-treated males, but not females, had slower responses on incorrect trials, suggesting that males were making errors due to distraction, lack of motivation or uncertainty. Furthermore, although both males and females had slower responding following an incorrect compared to a correct trial, the sex difference in response latencies was disproportionally large following an incorrect trial. No sex difference was found in the Delayed Response task. Overall, slower response latencies in males than females during Reversal Learning, especially during and following an incorrect trial, may reflect greater sensitivity to punishment (omission of reward) and greater performance monitoring in males, compared to females. Because these differences occurred in gonadectomized animals and regardless of hormone replacement, they may be organized early in life.
Starting Page	619
Ending Page	630
Page Count	12
File Format	PDF
ISSN	14359448
Journal	Animal Cognition
Volume Number	19
Issue Number	3
e-ISSN	14359456
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publisher Date	2016-02-24
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	Cognitive flexibility Estrogen Executive function Response inhibition Testosterone Working memory Behavioral Sciences Zoology Psychology Research
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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