The role of endogenous circadian oscillators on hippocampal-dependent learning in an animal model of social jet lag

Cleary, Jillian M. (2019) The role of endogenous circadian oscillators on hippocampal-dependent learning in an animal model of social jet lag. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Discrepancies between weekday and weekend sleep schedules have led to the concept of “social jet lag”, which is suggested to negatively impact circadian rhythms via disruption of the light entrainable oscillator (LEO). The current study used an animal model of social jet lag, herein coined the social jet lag manipulation (SJM), to examine the effects of circadian rhythm disruption on hippocampal-dependent memory. Further, it examined if having access to the food entrainable oscillator (FEO) could counteract any observed deficits. While receiving one (FEO access) or multiple (no FEO access) meals per day, rats were exposed to either a 12:12 light-dark cycle or the 32-day SJM. Following the manipulation schedule, rats were trained on the non-hippocampal dependent stimulus response (SR) task and the hippocampal-dependent Morris water maze task. There were no differences observed between group performance on the non-hippocampal SR task. SJM and control rats also showed equal acquisition and retention of the hippocampaldependent water maze task, leaving the question of whether FEO can counteract LEO disrupted circadian rhythms to be further investigated. The current study demonstrates the importance of further investigation into models of circadian rhythm disruption and the possible ameliorative effects of access to the FEO.

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