Social recognition task in the rat.

Among the numerous tasks designed for assessing distinct memory processes, the social recognition task in the rat offers the opportunity to evaluate a form of short-term working memory in the domain of social cognition, and its modification by pharmacological agents or physiopathological states, such as aging. Social cognition in humans is obviously of great importance and its deficits, e.g., during aging and Alzheimer's dementia, often have dramatic consequences for the patient and their environment. Two protocols are described in this unit that permit evaluation of positive and negative drug effects on social recognition memory in adult male rats and beneficial drug effects on age-related social recognition amnesia in aged male rats.