1
|
Eleftheriou C, Clarke T, Poon V, Zechner M, Duguid I. Visiomode: An open-source platform for building rodent touchscreen-based behavioral assays. J Neurosci Methods 2023; 386:109779. [PMID: 36621552 PMCID: PMC10375831 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2022.109779] [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: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Touchscreen-based behavioral assays provide a robust method for assessing cognitive behavior in rodents, offering great flexibility and translational potential. The development of touchscreen assays presents a significant programming and mechanical engineering challenge, where commercial solutions can be prohibitively expensive and open-source solutions are underdeveloped, with limited adaptability. NEW METHOD Here, we present Visiomode (www.visiomode.org), an open-source platform for building rodent touchscreen-based behavioral tasks. Visiomode leverages the inherent flexibility of touchscreens to offer a simple yet adaptable software and hardware platform. The platform is built on the Raspberry Pi computer combining a web-based interface and powerful plug-in system with an operant chamber that can be adapted to generate a wide range of behavioral tasks. RESULTS As a proof of concept, we use Visiomode to build both simple stimulus-response and more complex visual discrimination tasks, showing that mice display rapid sensorimotor learning including switching between different motor responses (i.e., nose poke versus reaching). COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS Commercial solutions are the 'go to' for rodent touchscreen behaviors, but the associated costs can be prohibitive, limiting their uptake by the wider neuroscience community. While several open-source solutions have been developed, efforts so far have focused on reducing the cost, rather than promoting ease of use and adaptability. Visiomode addresses these unmet needs providing a low-cost, extensible platform for creating touchscreen tasks. CONCLUSIONS Developing an open-source, rapidly scalable and low-cost platform for building touchscreen-based behavioral assays should increase uptake across the science community and accelerate the investigation of cognition, decision-making and sensorimotor behaviors both in health and disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Constantinos Eleftheriou
- Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK; Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences and Patrick Wild Centre, Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK.
| | - Thomas Clarke
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences and Patrick Wild Centre, Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK
| | - V Poon
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences and Patrick Wild Centre, Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK
| | - Marie Zechner
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, Scotland, UK
| | - Ian Duguid
- Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK; Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences and Patrick Wild Centre, Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Shtyrov Y, Filippova M, Blagovechtchenski E, Kirsanov A, Nikiforova E, Shcherbakova O. Electrophysiological Evidence of Dissociation Between Explicit Encoding and Fast Mapping of Novel Spoken Words. Front Psychol 2021; 12:571673. [PMID: 33746814 PMCID: PMC7969714 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.571673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Existing behavioral, neuropsychological and functional neuroimaging data suggest that at least two major cognitive strategies are used for new word learning: fast mapping (FM) via context-dependent inference and explicit encoding (EE) via direct instruction. However, these distinctions remain debated at both behavioral and neurophysiological levels, not least due to confounds related to diverging experimental settings. Furthermore, the neural dynamics underpinning these two putative processes remain poorly understood. To tackle this, we designed a paradigm presenting 20 new spoken words in association with pictures in either FM or EE settings, closely matched for auditory and visual features and overall task demands. We tested word acquisition using a range of behavioral measures as well as passive event-related potential (ERP) responses, an established measure of word memory trace activation, and compared brain activity elicited by novel FM and EE words before and after the learning session. Behavioral data obtained in free recall, recognition and semantic word-picture matching tasks indicated successful acquisition of new words after just 10 exposures. Crucially, we found no behavioral evidence of different acquisition outcomes between FM and EE learning. ERP data, which exhibited the main response peaks at ~170, 250, and 520 ms, also indicated successful learning, with statistically different responses between novel and familiar words present only before, but not after the training, suggesting rapid formation of new neural memory circuits matching in activation those for previously known words. Furthermore, already at the earliest peak, we found different topographic distributions for the two learning types, with left-lateralized FM dynamics, suggestive of core language system involvement, and more diffuse activity for EE items, possibly suggesting the role of attention/executive control network. A similar effect also manifested later, at ~520 ms. Our data suggest that while both EE and FM learning can be successful for rapid word acquisition at the behavioral level, the diverging electrophysiological patterns suggest a dissociation between the neural systems underpinning these learning strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yury Shtyrov
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN), Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Laboratory of Behavioural Neurodynamics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Margarita Filippova
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurodynamics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia.,Department of General Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Evgeni Blagovechtchenski
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurodynamics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Alexander Kirsanov
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurodynamics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Elizaveta Nikiforova
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurodynamics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Olga Shcherbakova
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurodynamics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia.,Department of General Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Sullivan JA, Dumont JR, Memar S, Skirzewski M, Wan J, Mofrad MH, Ansari HZ, Li Y, Muller L, Prado VF, Prado MAM, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. New frontiers in translational research: Touchscreens, open science, and the mouse translational research accelerator platform. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 20:e12705. [PMID: 33009724 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Many neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases and other brain disorders are accompanied by impairments in high-level cognitive functions including memory, attention, motivation, and decision-making. Despite several decades of extensive research, neuroscience is little closer to discovering new treatments. Key impediments include the absence of validated and robust cognitive assessment tools for facilitating translation from animal models to humans. In this review, we describe a state-of-the-art platform poised to overcome these impediments and improve the success of translational research, the Mouse Translational Research Accelerator Platform (MouseTRAP), which is centered on the touchscreen cognitive testing system for rodents. It integrates touchscreen-based tests of high-level cognitive assessment with state-of-the art neurotechnology to record and manipulate molecular and circuit level activity in vivo in animal models during human-relevant cognitive performance. The platform also is integrated with two Open Science platforms designed to facilitate knowledge and data-sharing practices within the rodent touchscreen community, touchscreencognition.org and mousebytes.ca. Touchscreencognition.org includes the Wall, showcasing touchscreen news and publications, the Forum, for community discussion, and Training, which includes courses, videos, SOPs, and symposia. To get started, interested researchers simply create user accounts. We describe the origins of the touchscreen testing system, the novel lines of research it has facilitated, and its increasingly widespread use in translational research, which is attributable in part to knowledge-sharing efforts over the past decade. We then identify the unique features of MouseTRAP that stand to potentially revolutionize translational research, and describe new initiatives to partner with similar platforms such as McGill's M3 platform (m3platform.org).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline A Sullivan
- Department of Philosophy, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Rotman Institute of Philosophy, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Julie R Dumont
- BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sara Memar
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Miguel Skirzewski
- BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jinxia Wan
- Division of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China.,PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Maryam H Mofrad
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Applied Mathematics, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Yulong Li
- Division of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China.,PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China.,Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Lyle Muller
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Applied Mathematics, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vania F Prado
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marco A M Prado
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
El-Shamarka MES, Sayed RH, Assaf N, Zeidan HM, Hashish AF. Combined neurotoxic effects of cannabis and nandrolone decanoate in adolescent male rats. Neurotoxicology 2020; 76:114-125. [PMID: 31704101 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2019.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 11/03/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Polydrug use among adolescence is a widespread phenomenon and has increased in the last few years. In particular, most nandrolone decanoate (Nan) abusers combine its use with cannabis (Can); thus, studying the consequences of this combination in adolescent subjects is important because potentiation of their effects may increase their neurotoxicity. The present study was designed to study the neurotoxic effects of Nan and Can, alone and in combination, in adolescent male rats by studying the behavioural, biochemical, and histopathological effects. Nan (15 mg/kg, s.c.) and Can (20 mg/kg, s.c.) were given alone or in combination to rats once daily for one month. The combined administration of Can and Nan induced learning and spatial memory deficits, hypo-locomotion, anxiety and aggression in adolescent rats as evidenced by the Morris water maze, open field, elevated plus maze, and defensive aggression tests. In parallel, rats treated with the combination showed severe deleterious effects in the hippocampal and prefrontal cortex (PFC) neural architecture along with a decrease in brain-derived neurotropic factor. Furthermore, combined administration of Can and Nan increased oxidative stress (significantly increased malondialdehyde and nitric oxide levels and reduced glutathione content), elevated brain pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 beta), and upregulated caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 mRNA expression and cytochrome c levels. In conclusion, abuse of both Can and Nan conferred greater neurotoxic effects than either drug alone that were at least partially attributed to oxidative stress, inflammation, and intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis in the hippocampus and PFC of rats.
Collapse
|
5
|
Shtyrov Y, Kirsanov A, Shcherbakova O. Explicitly Slow, Implicitly Fast, or the Other Way Around? Brain Mechanisms for Word Acquisition. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:116. [PMID: 31080410 PMCID: PMC6497805 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yury Shtyrov
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurodynamics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Alexander Kirsanov
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurodynamics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Department of General Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Olga Shcherbakova
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurodynamics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Department of General Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Ayabe T, Ohya R, Ano Y. Hop-Derived Iso-α-Acids in Beer Improve Visual Discrimination and Reversal Learning in Mice as Assessed by a Touch Panel Operant System. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:67. [PMID: 31001094 PMCID: PMC6454052 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Dementia and cognitive decline have become worldwide health problems due to rapid growth of the aged population in many countries. We previously demonstrated that single or short-term administration of iso-α-acids, hop-derived bitter acids in beer, improves the spatial memory of scopolamine-induced amnesia model mice in the Y-maze and enhances novel object recognition in normal mice via activation of the vagus nerve and hippocampal dopaminergic system. However, these behavioral tests do not replicate the stimulus conditions or response requirements of human memory tests, and so may have poor translational validity. In this report, we investigated the effects of iso-α-acids on visual discrimination (VD) and reversal discrimination (RD) using a touch panel-based operant system similar to that used for human working memory tests. In the VD task, scopolamine treatment reduced correct response rate and prolonged response latency in mice, deficits reversed by prior oral administration of iso-α-acids. In the RD task, administration of iso-α-acids significantly increased correct response rate compared to vehicle administration. Previous studies have reported that dopamine signaling is involved in both VD and RD learning, suggesting that enhancement of dopamine release contributes to improved memory performance in mice treated with iso-α-acids. Taken together, iso-α-acids improve VD and RD learning, which are considered high-order cognitive functions. Given the translational advantages of the touch panel-based operant system, the present study suggests that iso-α-acids could be effective for improvement of working memory in human dementia patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuhiro Ayabe
- Research Laboratories for Health Science & Food Technologies, Kirin Company Ltd., Yokohama, Japan
| | - Rena Ohya
- Research Laboratories for Health Science & Food Technologies, Kirin Company Ltd., Yokohama, Japan
| | - Yasuhisa Ano
- Research Laboratories for Health Science & Food Technologies, Kirin Company Ltd., Yokohama, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Behavioral assessment of hippocampal function following dietary intervention. FOOD SCIENCE AND HUMAN WELLNESS 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fshw.2018.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
8
|
Buscher N, van Dorsselaer P, Steckler T, Talpos JC. Evaluating aged mice in three touchscreen tests that differ in visual demands: Impaired cognitive function and impaired visual abilities. Behav Brain Res 2017; 333:142-149. [PMID: 28690184 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.06.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Revised: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 06/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Normal aging is often accompanied by reductions in cognitive abilities as well as impairments in visual acuity in men and mice. In preclinical models of human cognition this concomitance can make it difficult to assess the relative contributions of declined vision and cognitive ability on behavioral measures of cognition. To assess the influence of age on cognition and the impact of visual decline on the performance of touchscreen-based behavioral paradigms in mice, aged (11, 12, 16, 17, 19 and 21 months old) male C57BL/6J mice were compared to young (3 or 4 months old) male C57BL/6J mice using three tests of cognition as well as an assessment of visual acuity. Performance of a Visual Discrimination, Spatial Reversal, and an Automated Search Task were all affected by age. However, there was no relationship between reduced visual acuity and the observed performance impairments. Moreover, the visual acuity of animals with profound cognitive impairments overlapped with those showing normal cognitive ability. Despite the potential confound of impaired visual ability, it appears that the touchscreen approach might be particularly effective in studying age-related cognitive decline. This approach will increase the utility of aged mice as a model of decreased cognitive flexibility and may be particularly important for the study of age-related disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Buscher
- Janssen Research & Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium; University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, United Kingdom.
| | | | - Thomas Steckler
- Janssen Research & Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium
| | - John C Talpos
- Janssen Research & Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Gallant H, Vo A, Seergobin KN, MacDonald PA. Pramipexole Impairs Stimulus-Response Learning in Healthy Young Adults. Front Neurosci 2016; 10:374. [PMID: 27594823 PMCID: PMC4990534 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2016] [Accepted: 08/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Dopaminergic therapy has paradoxical effects on cognition in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, with some functions worsened and others improved. The dopamine overdose hypothesis is proposed as an explanation for these opposing effects of medication taking into account the varying levels of dopamine within different brain regions in PD. The detrimental effects of medication on cognition have been attributed to exogenous dopamine overdose in brain regions with spared dopamine levels in PD. It has been demonstrated that learning is most commonly worsened by dopaminergic medication. The current study aimed to investigate whether the medication-related learning impairment exhibited in PD patients is due to a main effect of medication by evaluating the dopamine overdose hypothesis in healthy young adults. Using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, 40 healthy young undergraduate students completed a stimulus-response learning task. Half of the participants were treated with 0.5 mg of pramipexole, a dopamine agonist, whereas the other half were treated with a placebo. We found that stimulus-response learning was significantly impaired in participants on pramipexole relative to placebo controls. These findings are consistent with the dopamine overdose hypothesis and suggest that dopaminergic medication impairs learning independent of PD pathology. Our results have important clinical implications for conditions treated with pramipexole, particularly PD, restless leg syndrome, some forms of dystonia, and potentially depression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haley Gallant
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario London, ON, Canada
| | - Andrew Vo
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, Canada
| | - Ken N Seergobin
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario London, ON, Canada
| | - Penny A MacDonald
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, Canada; Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Fachim HA, Pereira AC, Iyomasa-Pilon MM, Rosa MLNM. Differential Expression of AMPA Subunits Induced by NMDA Intrahippocampal Injection in Rats. Front Neurosci 2016; 10:32. [PMID: 26912994 PMCID: PMC4753315 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2015] [Accepted: 01/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Glutamate is involved in excitotoxic mechanisms by interacting with different receptors. Such interactions result in neuronal death associated with several neurodegenerative disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). The aim of this work was to study the time course of changes in the expression of GluR1 and GluR2 subunits of glutamate amino-acid-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazol-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors in rat hippocampus induced by NMDA intrahippocampal injection. Rats were submitted to stereotaxic surgery for NMDA or saline (control) microinjection into dorsal hippocampus and the parameters were evaluated 24 h, 1, 2, and 4 weeks after injection. The extension and efficacy of the NMDA-induced injury were evaluated by Morris water maze (MWM) behavioral test and Nissl staining. The expression of GluR1 and GluR2 receptors, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neuronal marker (NeuN) was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. It was observed the impairment of learning and memory functions, loss of neuronal cells, and glial proliferation in CA1 area of NMDA compared with control groups, confirming the injury efficacy. In addition, NMDA injection induced distinct changes in GluR1 and GluR2 expression over the time. In conclusion, such changes may be related to the complex mechanism triggered in response to NMDA injection resulting in a local injury and in the activation of neuronal plasticity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Helene A Fachim
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao PauloRibeirão Preto, Brazil; Institute of Neuroscience and BehaviorRibeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Adriana C Pereira
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao PauloRibeirão Preto, Brazil; Institute of Neuroscience and BehaviorRibeirão Preto, Brazil
| | | | - Maria L N M Rosa
- Institute of Neuroscience and BehaviorRibeirão Preto, Brazil; Barretos School of Health Sciences, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde de Barretos Dr. Paulo Prata (FACISB)Barretos, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Cognitive impairment in a young marmoset reveals lateral ventriculomegaly and a mild hippocampal atrophy: a case report. Sci Rep 2015; 5:16046. [PMID: 26527211 PMCID: PMC4630607 DOI: 10.1038/srep16046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2015] [Accepted: 10/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The number of studies that use the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) in various fields of neurosciences is increasing dramatically. In general, animals enter the study when their health status is considered satisfactory on the basis of classical clinical investigations. In behavioral studies, variations of score between individuals are frequently observed, some of them being considered as poor performers or outliers. Experimenters rarely consider the fact that it could be related to some brain anomaly. This raises the important issue of the reliability of such classical behavioral approaches without using complementary imaging, especially in animals lacking striking external clinical signs. Here we report the case of a young marmoset which presented a set of cognitive impairments in two different tasks compared to other age-matched animals. Brain imaging revealed a patent right lateral ventricular enlargement with a mild hippocampal atrophy. This abnormality could explain the cognitive impairments of this animal. Such a case points to the importance of complementing behavioral studies by imaging explorations to avoid experimental bias.
Collapse
|
12
|
McAllister KAL, Mar AC, Theobald DE, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. Comparing the effects of subchronic phencyclidine and medial prefrontal cortex dysfunction on cognitive tests relevant to schizophrenia. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2015. [PMID: 26194915 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-015-4018-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE It is becoming increasingly clear that the development of treatments for cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia requires urgent attention, and that valid animal models of relevant impairments are required. With subchronic psychotomimetic agent phencyclidine (scPCP), a putative model of such impairment, the extent to which changes following scPCP do or do not resemble those following dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex is of importance. OBJECTIVES The present study carried out a comparison of the most common scPCP dosing regimen with excitotoxin-induced medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) dysfunction in rats, across several cognitive tests relevant to schizophrenia. METHODS ScPCP subjects were dosed intraperitoneal with 5 mg/kg PCP or vehicle twice daily for 1 week followed by 1 week washout prior to behavioural testing. mPFC dysfunction was induced via fibre-sparing excitotoxin infused into the pre-limbic and infralimbic cortex. Subjects were tested on spontaneous novel object recognition, touchscreen object-location paired-associates learning and touchscreen reversal learning. RESULTS A double-dissociation was observed between object-location paired-associates learning and object recognition: mPFC dysfunction impaired acquisition of the object-location task but not spontaneous novel object recognition, while scPCP impaired spontaneous novel object recognition but not object-location associative learning. Both scPCP and mPFC dysfunction resulted in a similar facilitation of reversal learning. CONCLUSIONS The pattern of impairment following scPCP raises questions around its efficacy as a model of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, particularly if importance is placed on faithfully replicating the effects of mPFC dysfunction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K A L McAllister
- University of Cambridge Department of Psychology, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK. .,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK. .,, 20 Manchester Sq., London, W1U 3PZ, UK.
| | - A C Mar
- University of Cambridge Department of Psychology, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - D E Theobald
- University of Cambridge Department of Psychology, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - L M Saksida
- University of Cambridge Department of Psychology, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - T J Bussey
- University of Cambridge Department of Psychology, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Strain-dependent effects on acquisition and reversal of visual and spatial tasks in a rat touchscreen battery of cognition. Physiol Behav 2015; 144:26-36. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2014] [Revised: 12/17/2014] [Accepted: 03/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
14
|
Talpos JC, Aerts N, Fellini L, Steckler T. A touch-screen based paired-associates learning (PAL) task for the rat may provide a translatable pharmacological model of human cognitive impairment. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2014; 122:97-106. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2014.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2013] [Revised: 03/13/2014] [Accepted: 03/16/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
|
15
|
Delotterie D, Mathis C, Cassel JC, Dorner-Ciossek C, Marti A. Optimization of touchscreen-based behavioral paradigms in mice: implications for building a battery of tasks taxing learning and memory functions. PLoS One 2014; 9:e100817. [PMID: 24960028 PMCID: PMC4069170 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2014] [Accepted: 05/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although many clinical pathological states are now detectable using imaging and biochemical analyses, neuropsychological tests are often considered as valuable complementary approaches to confirm diagnosis, especially for disorders like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, and schizophrenia. The touchscreen-based automated test battery, which was introduced two decades ago in humans to assess cognitive functions, has recently been successfully back-translated in monkeys and rodents. We focused on optimizing the protocol of three distinct behavioral paradigms in mice: two variants of the Paired Associates Learning (PAL) and the Visuo-Motor Conditional Learning (VMCL) tasks. Acquisition of these tasks was assessed in naive versus pre-trained mice. In naive mice, we managed to define testing conditions allowing significant improvements of learning performances over time in the three aforementioned tasks. In pre-trained mice, we observed differential acquisition rates after specific task combinations. Particularly, we identified that animals previously trained in the VMCL paradigm subsequently poorly learned the sPAL rule. Together with previous findings, these data confirm the feasibility of using such behavioral assays to evaluate the power of different models of cognitive dysfunction in mice. They also highlight the risk of interactions between tasks when rodents are run through a battery of different cognitive touchscreen paradigms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David Delotterie
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, Université de Strasbourg-CNRS, Faculté de Psychologie, Strasbourg, France
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG, Dept. of CNS Diseases Research, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Chantal Mathis
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, Université de Strasbourg-CNRS, Faculté de Psychologie, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jean-Christophe Cassel
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, Université de Strasbourg-CNRS, Faculté de Psychologie, Strasbourg, France
| | - Cornelia Dorner-Ciossek
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG, Dept. of CNS Diseases Research, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Anelise Marti
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG, Dept. of CNS Diseases Research, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol disrupts hippocampal neuroplasticity and neurogenesis in trained, but not untrained adolescent Sprague-Dawley rats. Brain Res 2014; 1548:12-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2013.12.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2013] [Revised: 12/24/2013] [Accepted: 12/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
17
|
Oomen CA, Hvoslef-Eide M, Heath CJ, Mar AC, Horner AE, Bussey TJ, Saksida LM. The touchscreen operant platform for testing working memory and pattern separation in rats and mice. Nat Protoc 2013; 8:2006-21. [PMID: 24051961 PMCID: PMC3982138 DOI: 10.1038/nprot.2013.124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The automated touchscreen operant chamber for rats and mice allows for the assessment of multiple cognitive domains within the same testing environment. This protocol presents the location discrimination (LD) task and the trial-unique delayed nonmatching-to-location (TUNL) task, which both assess memory for location. During these tasks, animals are trained to a predefined criterion during ∼20-40 daily sessions. In LD sessions, touching the same location on the screen is rewarded on consecutive trials, followed by a reversal of location-reward contingencies. TUNL, a working memory task, requires animals to 'nonmatch' to a sample location after a delay. In both the LD and TUNL tasks, spatial similarity can be varied, allowing assessment of pattern separation ability, a function that is thought to be performed by the dentate gyrus (DG). These tasks are therefore particularly useful in animal models of hippocampal, and specifically DG, function, but they additionally permit discernment of changes in pattern separation from those in working memory.
Collapse
|
18
|
Horner AE, Heath CJ, Hvoslef-Eide M, Kent BA, Kim CH, Nilsson SRO, Alsiö J, Oomen CA, Holmes A, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. The touchscreen operant platform for testing learning and memory in rats and mice. Nat Protoc 2013; 8:1961-84. [PMID: 24051959 PMCID: PMC3914026 DOI: 10.1038/nprot.2013.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 274] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
An increasingly popular method of assessing cognitive functions in rodents is the automated touchscreen platform, on which a number of different cognitive tests can be run in a manner very similar to touchscreen methods currently used to test human subjects. This methodology is low stress (using appetitive rather than aversive reinforcement), has high translational potential and lends itself to a high degree of standardization and throughput. Applications include the study of cognition in rodent models of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Huntington's disease, frontotemporal dementia), as well as the characterization of the role of select brain regions, neurotransmitter systems and genes in rodents. This protocol describes how to perform four touchscreen assays of learning and memory: visual discrimination, object-location paired-associates learning, visuomotor conditional learning and autoshaping. It is accompanied by two further protocols (also published in this issue) that use the touchscreen platform to assess executive function, working memory and pattern separation.
Collapse
|
19
|
Talpos J, Steckler T. Touching on translation. Cell Tissue Res 2013; 354:297-308. [DOI: 10.1007/s00441-013-1694-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2013] [Accepted: 07/01/2013] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
|
20
|
McAllister KAL, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. Dissociation between memory retention across a delay and pattern separation following medial prefrontal cortex lesions in the touchscreen TUNL task. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2013; 101:120-6. [PMID: 23396186 PMCID: PMC3757163 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2012] [Revised: 01/23/2013] [Accepted: 01/27/2013] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The neural structures that support the retention of memories over time has been a subject of intense research in cognitive neuroscience. However, recently much attention has turned to pattern separation, the putative process by which memories are stored as unique representations that are resistant to confusion. It remains unclear, however, to what extent these two processes can be neurally dissociated. The trial-unique delayed nonmatching-to-location (TUNL) task was developed to assess spatial working memory and pattern separation function using trial-unique locations on a touch-sensitive screen (Talpos, McTighe, Dias, Saksida, & Bussey, 2010). Using this task, Talpos et al. (2010) showed that lesions of the hippocampus led to both impairments with a 6s delay, and impairments in pattern separation. The present study shows that lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex lead to a different pattern of effects: impairment at the same, 6s delay, but no hint of impairment in pattern separation. In addition, rats with medial prefrontal lesions were more susceptible to interference in this task. When compared with previously published results, these data show that whereas the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus likely interact in the service of working memory across a delay, only the hippocampus and not the medial prefrontal cortex is essential for pattern separation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn A L McAllister
- University of Cambridge Department of Psychology, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Talpos JC, Fletcher AC, Circelli C, Tricklebank MD, Dix SL. The pharmacological sensitivity of a touchscreen-based visual discrimination task in the rat using simple and perceptually challenging stimuli. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2012; 221:437-49. [PMID: 22116313 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-011-2590-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2011] [Accepted: 11/11/2011] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Cognitive testing with touchscreen-equipped operant boxes ('touchscreens') is becoming increasingly popular. Tasks, such as paired associate learning or reversal learning of visual stimuli, have the discrimination of visual stimuli as a fundamental component. However, the effect of drugs commonly used in the study of cognitive mechanisms has yet to be described in a visual discrimination. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to profile a range of psychoactive agents (glutamatergic, dopaminergic, and cholinergic agonists and antagonists) known to be important in cognitive processing on visual discrimination performance using a touch sensitive computer monitor. METHODS Male Lister Hooded rats were trained to a stable level of performance in a simple visual discrimination. In Experiment 1, the effect of MK-801, phencyclidine, memantine, dextroamphetamine sulphate (D-amphetamine) and scopolamine was assessed. In Experiment 2, the stimuli were blended together resulting in a perceptually more demanding discrimination and a reduction in accuracy. The rats used in Experiment 1 were then retested with these 'morphed' stimuli under the influence of the above compounds. RESULTS MK-801, PCP, and D-amphetamine induced selective deficits in accuracy in both versions of the task. In contrast, scopolamine and memantine produced non-selective deficits in accuracy. Morphing the stimuli reduced accuracy, but did not alter the observed behavioural profile after compound administration. CONCLUSION These data improve our understanding of the basic neuropharmacology of a visual discrimination in cognitive tests employing touchscreens and will aid in the interpretation of pharmacological studies with more cognitively demanding methodologies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J C Talpos
- Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Turnhoutseweg 30, Beerse B2340, Belgium.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
22
|
Bussey TJ, Holmes A, Lyon L, Mar AC, McAllister KAL, Nithianantharajah J, Oomen CA, Saksida LM. New translational assays for preclinical modelling of cognition in schizophrenia: the touchscreen testing method for mice and rats. Neuropharmacology 2012; 62:1191-203. [PMID: 21530550 PMCID: PMC3168710 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 207] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2010] [Revised: 04/01/2011] [Accepted: 04/10/2011] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
We describe a touchscreen method that satisfies a proposed 'wish-list' of desirables for a cognitive testing method for assessing rodent models of schizophrenia. A number of tests relevant to schizophrenia research are described which are currently being developed and validated using this method. These tests can be used to study reward learning, memory, perceptual discrimination, object-place associative learning, attention, impulsivity, compulsivity, extinction, simple Pavlovian conditioning, and other constructs. The tests can be deployed using a 'flexible battery' approach to establish a cognitive profile for a particular mouse or rat model. We have found these tests to be capable of detecting not just impairments in function, but enhancements as well, which is essential for testing putative cognitive therapies. New tests are being continuously developed, many of which may prove particularly valuable for schizophrenia research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- T J Bussey
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
23
|
Abstract
Humans are unique in developing large lexicons as their communication tool; to achieve this, they are able to learn new words rapidly. However, neural bases of this rapid learning, which may be an expression of a more general cognitive mechanism likely rooted in plasticity at cellular and synaptic levels, are not yet understood. In this update, the author highlights a selection of recent studies that attempted to trace word learning in the human brain noninvasively. A number of brain areas, most notably in hippocampus and neocortex, appear to take part in word acquisition. Critically, the currently available data not only demonstrate the hippocampal role in rapid encoding followed by slow-rate consolidation of cortical word memory traces but also suggest immediate neocortical involvement in the word memory trace formation. Echoing early behavioral studies in ultra-rapid word learning, the reviewed neuroimaging experiments can be taken to suggest that our brain may effectively form new cortical circuits online, as it gets exposed to novel linguistic patterns in the sensory input.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yury Shtyrov
- Medical Research Council (MRC), Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Kemp A, Manahan-Vaughan D. Passive spatial perception facilitates the expression of persistent hippocampal long-term depression. Cereb Cortex 2011; 22:1614-21. [PMID: 21917740 PMCID: PMC3377964 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhr233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning-facilitated plasticity describes the ability of hippocampal synapses to respond with synaptic plasticity when weak afferent stimulation is coupled with a spatial learning event. Qualitative differences appear to influence whether long-term potentiation or long-term depression (LTD) are facilitated by spatial learning. At many hippocampal synapses, LTD is facilitated when rats actively explore a novel spatial context. We investigated whether learning-facilitated plasticity is expressed when an unconstrained but stationary rat observes a computer-generated spatial environment. Visual fields were separated. Novel object configurations were presented to one field; familiar constellations were presented to the other field. LTD was facilitated in the CA1 region of the hemisphere to which novel object constellations were presented. Familiar constellations had no effect. LTD facilitation was prevented by treatment with the protein translation inhibitor, anisomycin. LTD in the dentate gyrus was not facilitated by novel object constellations, suggesting that effects are not common to all hippocampal subfields. These data support a unique association of LTD in the CA1 region with learning about spatial context and indicate that rats can passively perceive space.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne Kemp
- Department of Neurophysiology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | | |
Collapse
|
25
|
Xiang L, Zhou R, Fu A, Xu X, Huang Y, Hu C. Targeted delivery of large fusion protein into hippocampal neurons by systemic administration. J Drug Target 2010; 19:632-6. [PMID: 20932231 DOI: 10.3109/1061186x.2010.523788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Targeted delivery of proteins into the hippocampus has not yet been achieved. Here, we show that systemic administration of the β-galactosidase, fused to a 43-amino-acid peptide derived from rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG), results in targeted delivery of the fusion protein into the hippocampal neurons. This approach may enable the development of protein therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. This result may open new possibilities in using neurotropic virus glycoprotein-derived peptides for targeted delivery of therapeutic molecules into local brain regions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lixin Xiang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
26
|
Talpos JC, McTighe SM, Dias R, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. Trial-unique, delayed nonmatching-to-location (TUNL): a novel, highly hippocampus-dependent automated touchscreen test of location memory and pattern separation. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2010; 94:341-52. [PMID: 20692356 PMCID: PMC2989449 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2010.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2010] [Revised: 07/15/2010] [Accepted: 07/27/2010] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The hippocampus is known to be important for learning and memory, and is implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases. Accordingly many animal models of learning and memory focus on hippocampus-dependent tests of location learning and memory. These tests often use dry mazes or water mazes; however automated testing in operant chambers confers many advantages over such methods. Some automated tests of location memory, such as delayed nonmatching-to-position (DNMTP) have, however, fallen out of favor following the discovery that such tasks can be solved using mediating behaviors that can bridge the delay and reduce the requirement for memory per se. Furthermore some researchers report that DNMTP performance may not always require the hippocampus. Thus, in an attempt to develop a highly hippocampus-dependent automated test of location memory that elicits fewer mediating behaviors, we have developed a trial-unique nonmatching-to-location (TUNL) task, carried out in a computer-automated touchscreen testing apparatus. To test the efficacy of this assay, rats with lesions to the hippocampus, or a sham lesion control group, were tested under a variety of conditions. Both groups were able to perform well at a delay of 1 s, but the lesion group was highly impaired when tested at a 6 s delay. Moreover, animals with lesions of the hippocampus showed a greater impairment when the distance between the locations was reduced. This result indicates that TUNL can be used to investigate both memory across a delay, and spatial pattern separation (the ability to disambiguate similar spatial locations). Performance-enhancing mediating behaviors during the task were found to be minimal. Thus, the TUNL task has the potential to serve as a powerful tool for the study of the neurobiology of learning and memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J C Talpos
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
Chin VS, Van Skike CE, Matthews DB. Effects of ethanol on hippocampal function during adolescence: a look at the past and thoughts on the future. Alcohol 2010; 44:3-14. [PMID: 20113870 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2009.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2009] [Revised: 09/14/2009] [Accepted: 10/22/2009] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
It has been demonstrated by several laboratories that ethanol, both acute and chronic, produces effects that are age dependent. Specifically, adolescent rats are less sensitive to the hypnotic and motor-impairing effects of ethanol but are more sensitive to the hypothermic effects of the drug. However, the results on hippocampal function are not as clear. For example, there have been mixed findings regarding adolescent sensitivity of hippocampal-dependent (spatial) memory in response to ethanol. The current review explores the present state of the field as it relates to ethanol's effects in the hippocampus, particularly as it relates to spatial memory. In addition, we review potential neurobiological mechanisms that might underlie the age-dependent effects of ethanol in the hippocampus. Finally, future directions are proposed that will advance the state of the field as it relates to ethanol's effect during this developmental period.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vivien S Chin
- Department of Psychology, Baylor University Additions Research Consortium, Waco, TX, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
28
|
Abstract
Researchers are becoming increasingly interested in the role of the hippocampus in pattern separation, a process which keeps items distinct in memory. In this study, we develop and test a new automated touchscreen-based method for studying pattern separation in rodents. Rats were trained to discriminate locations on a computer screen that varied in their similarity, that is, their distance apart on the screen. Animals with lesions of the dorsal hippocampus were impaired when the locations discriminated were close together but not when they were far apart, indicating impaired pattern separation. This test provides an automated test of pattern separation, which adds to an expanding battery of cognitive tests that can be carried out using the touchscreen testing method.
Collapse
|
29
|
A novel touchscreen-automated paired-associate learning (PAL) task sensitive to pharmacological manipulation of the hippocampus: a translational rodent model of cognitive impairments in neurodegenerative disease. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2009; 205:157-68. [PMID: 19357840 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-009-1526-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2008] [Accepted: 03/21/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Paired-associate learning (PAL), as part of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, is able to predict who from an at-risk population will develop Alzheimer's disease. Schizophrenic patients are also impaired on this same task. An automated rodent model of PAL would be extremely beneficial in further research into Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to develop a PAL task using touchscreen-equipped operant boxes and test its sensitivity to manipulations of the hippocampus, a brain region of interest in both Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. MATERIALS AND METHODS Previous work has shown that spatial and non-spatial memory can be tested in touchscreen-equipped operant boxes. Using this same apparatus, rats were trained on two variants of a PAL task differing only in the nature of the S- (the unrewarded stimuli, a combination of image and location upon the screen). Rats underwent cannulation of the dorsal hippocampus, and after recovery were tested under the influence of intra-hippocampally administered glutamatergic and cholinergic antagonists while performing the PAL task. RESULTS Impairments were seen after the administration of glutamatergic antagonists, but not cholinergic antagonists, in one of the two versions of PAL. CONCLUSIONS De-activation of the hippocampus caused impairments in a PAL task. The selective nature of this effect (only one of the two tasks was impaired), suggests the effect is specific to cognition and cannot be attributed to gross impairments (changes in visual learning). The pattern of results suggests that rodent PAL may be suitable as a translational model of PAL in humans.
Collapse
|
30
|
Paul CM, Magda G, Abel S. Spatial memory: Theoretical basis and comparative review on experimental methods in rodents. Behav Brain Res 2009; 203:151-64. [PMID: 19467271 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2009] [Accepted: 05/17/2009] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The assessment of learning and memory in animal models has been widely employed in scientific research for a long time. Among these models, those representing diseases with primary processes of affected memory - such as amnesia, dementia, brain aging, etc. - studies dealing with the toxic effects of specific drugs, and other exploring neurodevelopment, trauma, epilepsy and neuropsychiatric disorders, are often called on to employ these tools. There is a diversity of experimental methods assessing animal learning and memory skills. Overall, mazes are the devices mostly used today to test memory in rodents; there are several types of them, but their real usefulness, advantages and applications remain to be fully established and depend on the particular variant selected by the experimenter. The aims of the present article are first, to briefly review the accumulated knowledge in regard to spatial memory tasks; second, to bring the reader information on the different types of rodent mazes available to test spatial memory; and third, to elucidate the usefulness and limitations of each of these devices.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carrillo-Mora Paul
- Laboratorio de Aminoácidos Excitadores, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía Manuel Velasco Suárez, Mexico City 14269, Mexico.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
31
|
Narayanan SN, Kumar RS, Potu BK, Nayak S, Mailankot M. Spatial memory performance of Wistar rats exposed to mobile phone. Clinics (Sao Paulo) 2009; 64:231-4. [PMID: 19330250 PMCID: PMC2666459 DOI: 10.1590/s1807-59322009000300014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2008] [Accepted: 11/10/2008] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION With the tremendous increase in number of mobile phone users world wide, the possible risks of this technology have become a serious concern. OBJECTIVE We tested the effects of mobile phone exposure on spatial memory performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS Male Wistar rats (10-12 weeks old) were exposed to 50 missed calls/day for 4 weeks from a GSM (900/1800 MHz) mobile phone in vibratory mode (no ring tone). After the experimental period, the animals were tested for spatial memory performance using the Morris water maze test. RESULTS Both phone exposed and control animals showed a significant decrease in escape time with training. Phone exposed animals had significantly (approximately 3 times) higher mean latency to reach the target quadrant and spent significantly (approximately 2 times) less time in the target quadrant than age- and sex-matched controls. CONCLUSION Mobile phone exposure affected the acquisition of learned responses in Wistar rats. This in turn points to the poor spatial navigation and the object place configurations of the phone-exposed animals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Bhagath Kumar Potu
- Department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College - Manipal, India. Tel.: 91 820 2922637,
| | | | | |
Collapse
|