Discrimination of Multidimensional Visual Stimuli by Mice: Intra- and Extradimensional Shifts.

Brigman, Jonathan L.; Bussey, Timothy J.; Saksida, Lisa M.; Rothblat, Lawrence A.

doi:10.1037/0735-7044.119.3.839

Cited by 80 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Many rodent analogs of human tasks have been developed (Brigman et al 2010), where the most used paradigms involve operant chambers in which mice have to learn to poke (Laughlin et al 2011), press (Ortega et al 2013), or touch (Brigman et al 2005) to obtain a food or liquid reward. During initial discrimination learning (DL), when mice learn to discriminate between unrewarded and rewarded response options, valuable information is gathered on associative learning abilities.…”

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confidence: 99%

Measuring discrimination- and reversal learning in mouse models within 4 days and without prior food deprivation

et al. 2016

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Many neurological and psychiatric disorders are characterized by deficits in cognitive flexibility. Modeling cognitive flexibility in mice enables the investigation of mechanisms underlying these deficits. The majority of currently available behavioral tests targeting this cognitive domain are reversal learning tasks that require scheduled food restriction, extended training periods and labor-intensive, and stress-inducing animal handling. Here, we describe a novel 4-day (4-d) continuously running task measuring discrimination-and reversal learning in an automated home cage (CognitionWall DL/RL task) that largely eliminates these limitations. In this task, mice can earn unlimited number of food rewards by passing through the correct hole of the three-holed CognitionWall. To assess the validity and sensitivity of this novel task, the performance of C57BL/6J mice, amyloid precursor protein/presenilin1 transgenic (APP/PS1) mice, a-calmodulin kinase-II (aCaMKII) T305D knock-in mice, and mice with an orbitofrontal cortex lesion were examined. We found that C57BL/6J mice reach stable performance levels within the 4 d of the task, while experiencing only slight reductions in weight and no major effects on circadian rhythm. The task detected learning deficits in APP/PS1 transgenic and aCaMKII T305D mutant mice. Additionally, we established that the orbitofrontal cortex underlies reversal learning performance in our task. Because of its short duration and the absence of food deprivation and concurrent weight loss, this novel automated home-cage task substantially improves comprehensive preclinical assessment of cognitive functions in mouse models of psychiatric and neurological disorders and also enables analysis during specific developmental stages.

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confidence: 99%

Measuring discrimination- and reversal learning in mouse models within 4 days and without prior food deprivation

et al. 2016

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“…Many specific elements related to these domains, such as impulsivity, set-shifting, memory function and anticipatory motivation are conserved across many species; for example it is evident that setshifting is conserved in humans, primates and mice, and that similar tests can be used across all species. 23 Traditionally, behavioural phenotyping in rodents has been mainly addressed by means of hypothesisbased animal models (such as dopamine dysfunction) and behavioural tests that assess various interacting domains. Often used behavioural tests in basic neuroscience, such as the open field, elevated plus maze and Morris water maze tests, consist of brief assessments of animal's fear, cognitive and motor activity levels when exposed to a novel environment.…”

Section: Interspecies Conservation Of Genetic Variation In Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetics of behavioural domains across the neuropsychiatric spectrum; of mice and men

et al. 2006

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Family and twin studies have revealed that genetic factors play a major role in psychiatric disorders, however, attempts to find susceptibility genes for these complex disorders have been largely unsuccessful. Therefore, new research strategies are required to tackle the complex interactions of genes, developmental, and environmental events. Here, we will address a behavioural domain concept that focuses on the genetics of behavioural domains relevant to both animal behaviour and across human psychiatric disorders. We believe that interspecies trait genetics rather than complex syndrome genetics will optimize genotypephenotype relationships for psychiatric disorders and facilitate the identification of biological substrates underlying these disorders.

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“…In addition to the advantages of facilitated translation between human and animal tests, the task offers many other advantages, including low motoric demand, ease of administration, and accuracy of task parameters. The method has been used effectively in a number of behavioral, lesion, and pharmacological studies (e.g., Izquierdo et al 1993;Sahgal and Steckler 1994;Steckler and Sahgal 1995;Markham et al 1996;Bussey et al 1997aBussey et al ,b, 1998Bussey et al , 2001aParkinson et al 1999Parkinson et al , 2002Chudasama et al 2001;Chudasama and Robbins 2003;Cook et al 2004;Dalley et al 2005;Janisewicz and Baxter 2003;Brigman et al 2005;Minini and Jeffery 2006;Morton et al 2006).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…1A) developed the touchscreen testing method for rats, a method which has more recently been adapted for mice (Izquierdo et al 1993;Bussey et al 2001b;Brigman et al 2005;Morton et al 2006). This computer-automated behavioral testing method allows computer graphic stimuli to be presented to a rodent and the rodent to respond to the computer screen via a nose-poke directly to the stimulus.…”

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The touchscreen cognitive testing method for rodents: How to get the best out of your rat

Bussey¹,

Padain²,

Skillings³

et al. 2008

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The touchscreen testing method for rodents is a computer-automated behavioral testing method that allows computer graphic stimuli to be presented to rodents and the rodents to respond to the computer screen via a nose-poke directly to the stimulus. The advantages of this method are numerous; however, a systematic study of the parameters that affect learning has not yet been conducted. We therefore sought to optimize stimuli and task parameters in this method. We found that when parameters were optimized, Lister Hooded rats could learn rapidly using this method, solving a discrimination of two-dimensional stimuli to a level of 80% within five to six sessions lasting ∼30 min each.In a final experiment we tested both male and female rats of the albino Sprague-Dawley strain, which are often assumed to have visual abilities far too poor to be useful for studies of visual cognition. The performance of female Sprague-Dawley rats was indistinguishable from that of their male counterparts. Furthermore, performance of male Sprague-Dawley rats was indistinguishable from that of their Lister Hooded counterparts. Finally, Experiment 5 examined the ability of Lister Hooded rats to learn a discrimination between photographic stimuli. Under conditions in which parameters were optimized, rats were remarkably adept at this discrimination. Taken together, these experiments served to optimize the touchscreen method and have demonstrated its usefulness as a high-throughput method for the cognitive testing of rodents.It is now well understood that the use of animal models is an essential component in our quest to understand the brain mechanisms of cognition. In addition, such models are necessary for researchers to be able to test potential therapeutic agents in a direct and expedient manner that is not possible in human subjects. Moreover, we are experiencing a revolution in the sophistication of transgenic and knock-out animal models that creates opportunities for cognitive testing and therapeutic screening that were until recently, unthinkable (Kobayashi and Chen 2005).To achieve successful translation of findings from animal models to humans, the cognitive tasks we use with our rodents should resemble as closely as possible those used with human subjects. Increasingly, human subjects are tested using computerautomated methods. A particularly powerful approach is the "touchscreen" testing method, in which subjects respond directly to stimuli on a computer screen (e.g., Robbins et al. 1994). The advantages of this method are numerous and include facilitated performance due to contiguity between stimuli and responses and the ability to present a battery of different cognitive tests in which parameters such as stimuli, responses, and feedback are consistent across tasks and conditions.To create a cognitive testing method for rodents that matched, as far as possible, the touchscreen testing method for humans, Bussey et al. (1994Bussey et al. ( , 1997a) (see Fig. 1A) developed the touchscreen testing method for rats, a method which has...

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Discrimination of Multidimensional Visual Stimuli by Mice: Intra- and Extradimensional Shifts.

Cited by 80 publications

References 18 publications

Measuring discrimination- and reversal learning in mouse models within 4 days and without prior food deprivation

Measuring discrimination- and reversal learning in mouse models within 4 days and without prior food deprivation

Genetics of behavioural domains across the neuropsychiatric spectrum; of mice and men

The touchscreen cognitive testing method for rodents: How to get the best out of your rat

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