Method for testing sustained attention in touchscreen operant chambers in rats.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sustained attention, the ability to detect rare and unpredictable events, is central to cognitive performance. This construct can be tested in rodents using a Sustained Attention Task (SAT), where rats are trained to detect an unpredictably occurring signal (a brief light presentation) from non-signal events. The traditional version of this task utilizes an operant chamber with a central panel light for the signal and two retractable response levers. Adaptation of SAT to the increasingly popular touchscreen operant chambers, which do not have levers or fixed lights, could enhance the versatility of the task.

New method

Here we developed a touchscreen version of SAT where the light signal is presented in the center of the touchscreen, followed by a tone to indicate

SUBMITTER: Wicks B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5300756 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature