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The Rodent Psychomotor Vigilance Test (rPVT): A Method for Assessing Neurobehavioral Performance in Rats and Mice
Published on: December 29, 2016
Rat psychomotor vigilance task with fast response times using a conditioned lick behavior
Jennifer L Walker1, Brendan M Walker, Fernanda Monjaraz Fuentes
1Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Physiology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6520, USA.
Behavioural Brain Research
|August 11, 2010
Summary
This study developed a rat psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) for sleep research. Sleep deprivation impaired performance, showing decreased accuracy and slower reaction times in rats.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Sleep Research
Background:
- Investigating sleep mechanisms requires animal models with fast psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) response times (<300 ms).
- Rats offer a suitable PVT model due to rapid whisker-stimulated cortical responses and lick-based operant conditioning.
- Previous methods using deprivation for motivation can confound physiological and neurobehavioral results.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a rat PVT model for sleep research without water deprivation.
- To assess the impact of varying sleep deprivation durations on PVT performance in rats.
- To correlate behavioral performance with electroencephalogram (EEG) changes during sleep deprivation.
Main Methods:
- Rats were trained on a lick-based PVT using whisker stimulation, conditioned for head restraint without water deprivation.
- Animals underwent 3, 6, and 12-hour sleep deprivation periods using gentle handling.
- Behavioral performance (correct hits, reaction time) and EEG delta power were recorded.
Main Results:
- Rats achieved >80% correct hits after training, with improved reaction times and accuracy over sessions.
- Sleep deprivation significantly decreased percent correct hits after 6 and 12 hours.
- Reaction times significantly increased after 12 hours of sleep deprivation, accompanied by increased EEG delta power before misses.
Conclusions:
- The developed rat PVT model effectively assesses sleep deprivation effects on vigilance and reaction time.
- The model allows for parallel studies with human protocols investigating sleep, time-on-task, and pharmacological agents.
- EEG delta power increases prior to performance errors, suggesting sub-behavioral sleepiness.
