Presenter:   Ivan (Joe) Stone
Phone:  229-5348
E-mail: x2iston@stlawu.edu

Faculty Advisors:  Loraina L. Ghiraldi (Psychology Department) and
       Karin Bodensteiner (Biology Department)

Poster Presentation

Research has demonstrated that memory decreases with age, as does a variety of other physiological and cognitive functions.  Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), an adrenal hormone, shows this pattern and has been indicated in affecting memory.  The present experiment was designed to assess the effects of DHEAS on spatial learning and memory in male Swiss Webster albino mice.  Investigation into this area is important because DHEAS supplements are currently being sold to humans as memory enhancers despite the inconclusive and contradictory nature of experimental results.  The present study was accomplished by subcutaneously injecting aged (14-16 months) and young (2-4 months) animals with DHEAS, Progesterone (P), DHEAS + P, or oil vehicle and testing learning and memory abilities in a Morris-type swimming maze.  Testing entails placing the subject into the maze, a pool of water that contains a hidden platform, and recording the subject’s latency to locate and perch on the platform.  Injections were given prior to each maze training and testing session.  During acquisition, each mouse received three training trials per day for 5 consecutive days.  The animals were tested for memory retention 48 hr after the last training session.  After testing was completed, mice were euthanized and blood was collected.  Serum levels of hormones will be analyzed by radioimmunoassay.  It was hypothesized that aged animals receiving DHEAS would show decreased latencies to find the platform, indicating enhanced memory.  It was also expected that P would inhibit memory and interfere with the memory enhancing effects of DHEAS, as indicated in previous research.