Profiling attention and cognition enhancing drugs in a rat touchscreen-based continuous performance test

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology
• Translational Medicine

Background:

• A novel rodent continuous performance test (CPT) was developed within the NEWMEDS consortium.
• The goal was to enhance translatability of CPT to human studies for depression and schizophrenia research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of attention and cognition-enhancing drugs on the rodent CPT.
• To evaluate the translatability of the rodent CPT for assessing drug effects.

Main Methods:

• Rats were trained to asymptotic performance on the rodent CPT.
• A crossover design was used to test methylphenidate, ABT-594, modafinil, atomoxetine, donepezil, and memantine at various doses.

Main Results:

• Stimulant-like drugs (methylphenidate, ABT-594, modafinil) increased impulsivity and responding, with limited attention improvement (only ABT-594 at highest dose).
• Atomoxetine, donepezil, and memantine reduced impulsivity and responding, but had neutral or negative effects on attention (d').

Conclusions:

• The rodent CPT can detect changes in impulsivity induced by drugs known to affect attention in rodents and humans.
• Further research is necessary to validate the rodent CPT's sensitivity and accuracy for assessing attention-related effects.