Characterization of the facilitative effects of perinatal choline supplementation on timing and temporal memory

Perinatal choline supplementation can improve performance on a variety of spatial memory tasks in adulthood. In order to extend these studies, we have investigated the effects of perinatal choline supplementation on the performance of a peak-interval timing task in which a 20 s temporal criterion was trained for a visual signal in adult (3-6 months old) rats. Following 5 weeks of baseline training, rats received systemic injections of nicotine (0.1, 0.2, or 0.4 mg/kg, s.c.) or saline prior to testing on the peak-interval timing task. The results indicated that perinatal choline supplementation increased rats' sensitivity to the 20 s temporal criterion during baseline training and facilitated the clock speed enhancing effects of nicotine during drug testing. The present study extends the types of long-term cognitive enhancement produced by perinatal choline supplementation to include the temporal processing domain and relates these effects to modifications in cholinergic function.