In the no delay cohort, where treatment began on the day of OVX, OVX-associated cognitive dysfunction in the Morris water maze was rescued by 8 weeks of treatment with leuprolide acetate or E2. A: Animals were successfully trained over a four day period. B: Bar graphs represent area under the curve (AUC) for accumulative latency to the platform during training. Leuprolide acetate and E2 had a lower latency to the platform (repeated measure ANOVA). C: The duration the animal spent in the target quadrant was used to analyze the sixty second probe trial, where the platform was removed. E2 and leuprolide acetate treated animals spent a higher percentage of time in the target quadrant as compared to the ovariectomized group (one-way ANOVA). Results are expressed as mean ± sem. Significant difference (p<0.05) from SHAM+SAL (a), from OVX+SAL (b), from OVX+LA (c) and from OVX+E2 (d)
SHAM+SAL, sham ovariectomy treated with saline; OVX+SAL, ovariectomy treated with saline; OVX+E2, ovariectomy treated with 17β-estradiol; OVX+LA, ovariectomy treated with leuprolide acetate