Abstract The ability to learn Pavlovian associations from environmental cues predicting positive outcomes is critical for survival, motivating adaptive behaviours. This cued-motivated behaviour depends on the nucleus accumbens (NAc). NAc output activity mediated by spiny projecting neurons (SPNs) is regulated by dopamine, but also by cholinergic...
This was shared with me this past week and thought it might be of interest to the wider community as most of us care about translational research. (I also simply love animal cognition!) This paper is by Will Ao, Megan Grace, Candance L. Floyd & Cole...
Abstract We have previously demonstrated that chimpanzees, similar to humans, can discriminate the orientations of a diagonal line better when lines are presented in redundant contexts than alone. In the present study, we examined whether the same redundant context facilitated diagonal-orientation discrimination in mice. Mice were...
Abstract Enrichment in rodents affects brain structure, improves behavioral performance, and is neuroprotective. Similarly, in humans, according to the cognitive reserve concept, enriched experience is functionally protective against neuropathology. Despite this parallel, the ability to translate rodent studies to human clinical situations is limited. This limitation...
Abstract Memory accuracy involves two major processes: pattern separation and pattern completion. Pattern separation refers to the ability to reduce overlap among similar inputs to avoid interference, and pattern completion refers to the ability to retrieve the whole information from partial or degraded cues. Impairments in...
ABSTRACTImpaired executive function is a common and debilitating non-motor symptom of idiopathic and hereditary Parkinson's disease (PD), but there is little understanding of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and circuits. The G2019S mutation in the kinase domain of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) greatly increases risk...
Penultimate version of a philosophy paper aimed at providing a preliminary understanding of the early development of the rodent touchscreen operant chamber based exclusively on the early published record, with minimal discussion of several later and more recent touchscreen based studies. To appear in a...
Abstract Executive functions including working memory (WM) and attention are altered following Cannabis exposure in humans. To test for similar effects in a rodent model, we exposed adult male rats to acute Cannabis smoke before testing them on touchscreen-based tasks that assess these executive processes. The...
Abstract The TUNL task is an automated touchscreen task used to evaluate the cognitive processes involved in working memory (WM) and spatial pattern separation in rodents. Both rats and mice can be used. To elicit working memory processes, rodent must distinguish between a sample (familiar) light...
Abstract Working memory is a fundamental cognitive process for decision-making and is a hallmark impairment in a variety of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Spatial working memory paradigms are a valuable tool to assess these processes in rodents and dissect the neurobiology underlying working memory. The trial...