Broschard, MB; Kim, J; Love, BC; Freeman, JH; (2021) Category learning in rodents using touchscreen‐based tasks. Genes, Brain and Behavior , 20 (1) , Article e12665. 10.1111/gbb.12665.

Preview

Text Love_Category learning in rodents using touchscreen-based tasks_AAM.pdf - Accepted Version Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

Categorization is a fundamental cognitive function that organizes our experiences into meaningful “chunks.” This category knowledge can then be generalized to novel stimuli and situations. Multiple clinical populations, including people with Parkinson’s disease, amnesia, autism, ADHD, and schizophrenia, have impairments in the acquisition and use of categories. Although rodent research is well suited for examining the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive functions, many rodent cognitive tasks have limited translational value. To bridge this gap, we use touchscreens to permit greater flexibility in stimulus presentation and task design, track key dependent measures, and minimize experimenter involvement. Touchscreens offer a valuable tool for creating rodent cognitive tasks that are directly comparable to tasks used with humans. Touchscreen tasks are also readily used with cutting‐edge neuroscientific methods that are difficult to do in humans such as optogenetics, chemogenetics, neurophysiology, and calcium imaging (using miniscopes). In this review, we demonstrate advantages of touchscreen‐based tasks for studying category learning in rats. We also address multiple factors for consideration when designing category learning tasks, including the limitations of the rodent visual system, experimental design, and analysis strategies.

Download activity - last month

Export as JSONCSVXML

Download activity - last 12 months

Export as CSVXMLJSON

Downloads by country - last 12 months

Export as XMLCSVJSON

Archive Staff Only

View Item