Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Moore, Jon

Abstract

Odor preference tasks, commonly used in rodents, are thought to be highly reliable in producing robust data; yet, these tasks require a considerable time investment due to the training procedures. A simple, 2-session, odor preference task was designed by modifying the classic Novel Object Preference task, utilizing the innate preference rodents have for novelty to evaluate odor memory learning and subsequent recall. Two different task designs were evaluated to determine optimal testing conditions and then odor pairs were tested to detect biases until mice demonstrated equal preference for a novel odor pair. Next, an experiment was conducted to determine if the hippocampus, a brain structure responsible for many types of declarative memories, also contributes to odor memory. Temporary inactivation of the CA1 region immediately following exposure to a novel odor resulted in impaired odor memory recall 24 hrs later, suggesting a necessary role for the hippocampus in odor memory.

Comments

Includes bibliography.

Extent

35 p.

Identifier

FA00012624

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