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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 7, 2026

Touchscreen Sustained Attention Task (SAT) for Rats
09:31

Touchscreen Sustained Attention Task (SAT) for Rats

Published on: September 15, 2017

The touchscreen operant platform for testing working memory and pattern separation in rats and mice.

Charlotte A Oomen1, Martha Hvoslef-Eide, Christopher J Heath

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. charlotte.oomen@gmail.com

Nature Protocols
|September 21, 2013
PubMed
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This study introduces touchscreen tasks for assessing rodent memory and spatial pattern separation. These methods help differentiate working memory deficits from pattern separation impairments in animal models.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Assessing cognitive functions in rodents is crucial for understanding brain mechanisms.
  • Existing methods may not effectively distinguish between working memory and pattern separation abilities.
  • The dentate gyrus (DG) is implicated in pattern separation, a key hippocampal function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present automated touchscreen operant tasks for evaluating cognitive domains in rats and mice.
  • To detail the Location Discrimination (LD) and Trial-Unique Delayed Nonmatching-to-Location (TUNL) tasks for assessing memory and pattern separation.
  • To enable the differentiation of working memory deficits from pattern separation impairments in animal models.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an automated touchscreen operant chamber for automated cognitive testing.

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Last Updated: May 7, 2026

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Automated Visual Cognitive Tasks for Recording Neural Activity Using a Floor Projection Maze
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  • Implemented the Location Discrimination (LD) task, involving reward for consistent location choice and reversal learning.
  • Implemented the Trial-Unique Delayed Nonmatching-to-Location (TUNL) task, a working memory paradigm requiring nonmatching to a sample location after a delay.
  • Varied spatial similarity in both tasks to assess pattern separation ability.

    • Main Results:

    • Both LD and TUNL tasks successfully assess memory for location in rodents.
    • The tasks allow for the manipulation of spatial similarity to probe pattern separation.
    • These protocols facilitate the discernment of changes in pattern separation distinct from working memory alterations.

    Conclusions:

    • Automated touchscreen tasks provide a versatile platform for cognitive assessment in rodents.
    • The LD and TUNL tasks are valuable tools for studying hippocampal and DG function.
    • These methods enable precise investigation of pattern separation and working memory in preclinical models.