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Updated: May 7, 2026

Touchscreen Sustained Attention Task (SAT) for Rats
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The touchscreen operant platform for assessing executive function in rats and mice.

Adam C Mar1, Alexa E Horner, Simon R O Nilsson

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. am682@cam.ac.uk

Nature Protocols
|September 21, 2013
PubMed
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This study introduces touchscreen assays for rodent executive functions like inhibitory control and attention. These methods, including extinction, reversal learning, and the 5-choice serial reaction time task, offer high potential for human cognitive studies.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Executive functions are crucial for adaptive behavior.
  • Rodent models are vital for understanding cognitive processes.
  • Existing cognitive assessment tools have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To detail touchscreen-based assays for assessing rodent executive functions.
  • To evaluate inhibitory control, attention, and cognitive flexibility.
  • To establish a translational cognitive test battery for rodents.

Main Methods:

  • Developed and implemented three touchscreen tasks: extinction, reversal learning, and the 5-choice serial reaction time (5-CSRT) task.
  • Measured response curtailment in extinction, stimulus-switch learning in reversal, and visual attention/response inhibition in 5-CSRT.

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Last Updated: May 7, 2026

Touchscreen Sustained Attention Task (SAT) for Rats
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Touchscreen Sustained Attention Task (SAT) for Rats

Published on: September 15, 2017

Automated Visual Cognitive Tasks for Recording Neural Activity Using a Floor Projection Maze
11:15

Automated Visual Cognitive Tasks for Recording Neural Activity Using a Floor Projection Maze

Published on: February 20, 2014

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  • Utilized a touchscreen platform for precise stimulus presentation and response recording.

    • Main Results:

    • The assays effectively measure distinct yet overlapping cognitive constructs.
    • Extinction assessed inhibitory control and response curtailment.
    • Reversal learning evaluated cognitive flexibility and learning.
    • 5-CSRT task gauged selective attention and impulsivity.

    Conclusions:

    • Touchscreen assays provide a robust and translatable method for assessing rodent executive functions.
    • These protocols contribute to a comprehensive cognitive test battery for translational research.
    • The platform facilitates detailed analysis of attention, inhibition, and flexibility.