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Pais RC, Goldani A, Hutchison J, Mazrouei A, Khavaninzadeh M, Molina LA, Sutherland RJ, Mohajerani MH. Assessing cognitive flexibility in mice using a custom-built touchscreen chamber. Front Behav Neurosci 2025; 19:1536458. [PMID: 40017733 PMCID: PMC11865062 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1536458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2025] [Indexed: 03/01/2025] Open
Abstract
Automated touchscreen systems have become increasingly prevalent in rodent model screening. This technology has significantly enhanced cognitive and behavioral assessments in mice and has bridged the translational gap between basic research using rodent models and human clinical research. Our study introduces a custom-built touchscreen operant conditioning chamber powered by a Raspberry Pi and a commercially available computer tablet, which effectively addresses the significant cost barriers traditionally associated with this technology. In order to test our prototype, we decided to train C57BL/6 mice on a visual discrimination serial-reversal task, and both C57BL/6 and AppNL-G-Fstrain - an Alzheimer's Disease (AD) mouse model - on a new location discrimination serial-reversal task. The results demonstrated a clear progression toward asymptotic performance, particularly in the location discrimination task, which also revealed potential genotype-specific deficits, with AppNL-G-F mice displaying an increase in the average number of errors in the first reversal as well as in perseverative errors, compared to wild-type mice. These results validate the practical utility of our touchscreen apparatus and underline its potential to provide insights into the behavioral and cognitive markers of neurobiological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui C. Pais
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Ali Goldani
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Jayden Hutchison
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Amirhossein Mazrouei
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Mostafa Khavaninzadeh
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Leonardo A. Molina
- Cumming School of Medicine Optogenetics Core Facility, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Robert J. Sutherland
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Majid H. Mohajerani
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
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Wearden JH. Meeting of minds: Skinner and Michotte at the International Congress of Psychology, Stockholm, 1951. J Exp Anal Behav 2024; 122:408-410. [PMID: 39155493 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.4208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024]
Abstract
This note discusses the apparently unpublished correspondence between B. F. Skinner and the Belgian psychologist Albert Michotte, preceding Skinner's visit to the Thirteenth International Congress of Psychology in Stockholm in 1951. Skinner's letters, written in French, were intended to arrange a visit to Michotte's laboratory in Leuven (then called Louvain) in Belgium, which in the end never took place, although it seems highly likely that they met in Stockholm. There is no record of the topic of the conversations they may have had, although one possible speculation concerns discussions of causality, as both Skinner and Michotte had published work relating to this topic in the 1940s, Michotte's La Perception de la Causalité and Skinner's Superstition in the pigeon. The note also discusses the way in which Skinner's visit to the Thirteenth Congress influenced the development of the experimental analysis of behavior in both Europe and Japan.
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Larsen NM, Sigurdsson V, Breivik J. The Use of Observational Technology to Study In-Store Behavior: Consumer Choice, Video Surveillance, and Retail Analytics. THE BEHAVIOR ANALYST 2017; 40:343-371. [PMID: 31976978 PMCID: PMC6701250 DOI: 10.1007/s40614-017-0121-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The store is the main laboratory for in-store experimental analysis. This article provides an introduction to a research program aimed at improving research practices in this laboratory, particularly emphasizing the importance of behavioral data and the new opportunities that technology offers. This complex modern-day Skinner box has sets of well-studied stimuli-behavior interactions that constantly adapt to the latest economic environment and as such constantly stretch the boundaries of behavioral analytic theory. However, the retail setting is highly important to applied behavior analysis for such issues as health, debt, environmental conservation, animal welfare, self-control, and consumer protection in general. This article presents a research strategy that emphasizes key environmental touch points throughout the customer journey in grocery retailing. We highlight the latest development by examining a particular research case and discussing the need for behavioral economic understanding of the start of the grocery journey, that is, the consumer choice of in-store product carrying equipment (e.g., cart, basket, or nothing). The conceptual system consists of a molecular four-term contingency framework as well as a more molar approach with conversion-rate modeling, where actual choice behavior is detected through video surveillance. The data are analyzed using a Shopper Flow© Tracking System in which software is designed to provide automatic data on shopper behavior and to assist human observers in tracking individual shopping trips. We discuss behavioral classifications, methodology, and implications related to the data from consumer tracking efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils Magne Larsen
- School of Business, UiT–The Arctic University of Norway, N-9480 Harstad, Norway
| | | | - Jørgen Breivik
- School of Business, UiT–The Arctic University of Norway, N-9480 Harstad, Norway
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