Poke And Delayed Drink Intertemporal Choice Task (POKE‐ADDICT): An open‐source behavioral apparatus for intertemporal choice testing in rodents

Abstract

Advancements in neuroscience research present opportunities and challenges, requiring substantial resources and funding. To address this, we describe here “Poke And Delayed Drink Intertemporal Choice Task (POKE‐ADDICT)”, an open‐source, versatile, and cost‐effective apparatus for intertemporal choice testing in rodents. This allows quantification of delay discounting (DD), a cross‐species phenomenon observed in decision making which provides valuable insights into higher‐order cognitive functioning. In DD, the subjective value of a delayed reward is reduced as a function of the delay for its receipt. Using our apparatus, we implemented an effective intertemporal choice paradigm for the quantification of DD based on an adjusting delayed amount (ADA) algorithm using mango juice as a reward. Our paradigm requires limited training, a few 3D‐printed parts and inexpensive electrical components, including a Raspberry Pi control unit. Furthermore, it is compatible with several in vivo procedures and the use of nose pokes instead of levers allows for faster task learning. Besides the main application described here, the apparatus can be further extended to implement other behavioral tests and protocols, including standard operant conditioning. In conclusion, we describe a versatile and cost‐effective design based on Raspberry Pi that can support research in animal behavior, decision making and, more specifically, delay discounting.

Novel Approaches for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Interventions and Insights from Clinical Trials

“…Further research could also explore whether NIBS-induced effects on PTSD also concern the higher-order cognitive processes of traumatized patients and if an eventual improvement correlates with PTSD symptoms’ severity. Among higher-order cognitive functions, delay discounting might represent a strategic candidate [ 130 ] since it is a transdiagnostic marker sensible to NIBS intervention that can be assessed through intertemporal choice tasks in both human subjects and animal models [ 131 , 132 ]. Another prompt for further investigations involves latent profile analysis [ 133 ], which would be a useful tool for identifying subgroups of patients with PTSD on which an integrated treatment could be suggested a priori or also turn out to be more effective in terms of symptoms’ mitigation.…”

Neural correlates of metacognition: Disentangling the brain circuits underlying prospective and retrospective second‐order judgments through noninvasive brain stimulation

“…Starting from our results, future investigations could also focus on assessing the role of metacognition in influencing other cognitive functions. In this research framework, delay discounting, that is, an element underlying decision-making , represents a perfect candidate given the possibility of testing such process either invasively in rodents via opensource behavioral apparatus (Moro, Saccenti, Seccia, et al, 2023) or noninvasively among humans through tDCS (Moro, Saccenti, Vergallito, et al, 2023). Further investigations are therefore needed to fill these gaps and elucidate the phenomenon of thinking about thinking.…”