Effects of anterior cingulate cortex lesions on a continuous performance task for mice.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Animal Behavior

Background:

• Executive functions, such as attention and impulse control, are critical cognitive processes.
• The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a vital role in these functions, particularly in response control and error processing.
• Cross-species behavioral tasks with translational validity are essential for studying prefrontal cortex-dependent functions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the validity of a rodent touchscreen continuous performance task (rCPT) as a translational tool for studying executive functions.
• To investigate the role of the ACC in attention and impulse control using the rCPT in mice.
• To evaluate the impact of ACC lesions on performance in the rCPT under varying task parameters.

Main Methods:

• Mice with quinolinic acid-induced lesions of the ACC were tested on a rodent touchscreen continuous performance task (rCPT).
• Task parameters were manipulated to challenge attention and impulse control.
• Performance metrics including response criterion, false alarm rates, inter-trial interval responses, hit rate, and discriminative sensitivity (d') were analyzed.

Main Results:

• ACC-lesioned mice exhibited a disinhibited response profile, characterized by a decreased response criterion and increased false alarm rates.
• A milder increase in inter-trial interval responses and hit rate was observed in lesioned mice.
• Discriminative sensitivity (d') remained unaffected by ACC lesions.
• The observed behavioral changes in lesioned mice were stable and not influenced by task difficulty manipulations.

Conclusions:

• The rodent touchscreen continuous performance task (rCPT) is a valid tool for studying prefrontal cortex function in mice.
• The ACC is critically involved in response control and impulse inhibition, as demonstrated by the effects of ACC lesions in the rCPT.
• The rCPT provides a meaningful link between animal and human cognitive tasks, facilitating cross-species research on executive functions.