Title: Standard Operating Procedure – Image Continuous Performance Task (iCPT)
Author: MouseTRAP Team
Date: 30/07/2025
Version: 4
Abstract: In humans, variants of the continuous performance task (CPT) are used to assess various aspects of attention and impulse control in clinical populations that include schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Alzheimer’s Disease. The test is performed in mice with specially designed touchscreen-based automated chambers, where images are presented in a center window and continuously presented throughout the session. Mice are required to selectively respond to one image type (target – S+), while withholding responses to all others when presented (non-targets – S-). This task allows experimenters to assess various components of cognition, including sustained attention, selective attention, reaction time and impulse control. The mouse CPT also offers a variety of task probes and the ability to customize task parameters to manipulate the attentional load.
DOI: 10.58064/6c3f-v005
Link to Full SOP: iCPT-v4
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Version Notes
July 30, 2025: Version 4
- Adjusted the After reward pause from 5s to 10s
- Reasoning is explained at the end of the SOP, but was based on fibre photometry recordings that demonstrated mice needed more time to baseline
- Included an additional formula for more data we can analyze: Premature Responses
- Added another method to run the stimulus duration probe
- Clarified details about the Inter Trial Interval
- Specifically, we made it clearer that the ITI is variable, rather than a constant duration between each trial