As add-on software to our line of touchscreen chambers from Campden Instruments, a wide range of behavioral tasks have been developed to probe different areas of cognition, most of which are ready to run, include all required training paradigms, and can easily be modified as needed.
An important consideration in the development of translational tasks has been to maximize the likelihood that the same cognitive abilities are used by both animals and humans to perform each test. Consequently, complex tasks are broken down into their constituent elements and each element assessed independently of the next in a step-by-step progression through the test. Guiding a subject through the test in this way restricts the use of alternative strategies and permits an analysis of performance in terms of the cognitive components involved. Functional equivalence is suggested if the pattern of performance of animals and humans, at each stage of the test, is qualitatively similar and if comparable impairments are seen following damage to selective brain structures.
Discover the right tasks for your research!
5-choice Serial Reaction Time Task (5CSRT) for Mice
Adapted for mice, this task is sensitive to cortical manipulations, especially those involving prefrontal cortex, and is highly dependent on cholinergic transmission.
5-choice Serial Reaction Time Task (5CSRT) for Rats
Adapted for rats, this task is sensitive to cortical manipulations, especially those involving prefrontal cortex, and is highly dependent on cholinergic transmission.
Trial-unique Nonmatching-to-Location Task (TUNL) for Mice
Adapted for mice, this is a working memory task. TUNL is a delayed nonmatching-to-place task that prevents the mediating strategies associated with the equivalent lever task.
Trial-unique Nonmatching-to-Location Task (TUNL) for Rats
Adapted for rats, this is a working memory task. TUNL is a delayed nonmatching-to-place task that prevents the mediating strategies associated with the equivalent lever task.
Location Discrimination (LD) for Mice
Adapted for mice, this is a spatial memory task with a reversal learning component. It is sensitive to hippocampal lesions and associated with glutamate receptor regulation and signaling.
Location Discrimination (LD) for Rats
Adapted for rats, this is a spatial memory task with a reversal learning component. It is sensitive to hippocampal lesions and associated with glutamate receptor regulation and signaling.
Autoshaping (Auto) for Mice
Adapted for mice, this task measures a Pavlovian response to the screen. This is a very rapidly administered test of simple classical conditioning that is dependent on a reward system centered on the ventral striatum.
Autoshaping (Auto) for Rats
Adapted for rats, this task measures a Pavlovian response to the screen. This is a very rapidly administered test of simple classical conditioning that is dependent on a reward system centered on the ventral striatum.
