Touchscreen and Translational Cognition: A Systematic Review of Trials in Humans and Rodents

The implementation of touchscreen platforms in co-clinical trials for rodents (i.e., mice and rats) and humans to assess cognitive functions presents an opportunity to overcome barriers present in conventional clinical trials. To better visualize the progress made in this area, this review proposes a systematic synthesis of the comparability of touchscreen cognitive assessment studies applied to both humans and rodents in a co-clinical framework. To accomplish this objective the Ovid, PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect databases were searched, in English, and without publication date limit and registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Review (PROSPERO) under the number CRD420250650537. The screening resulted in 5 cross-sectional studies and 1 randomized controlled trial (RCT) included, which were assessed for methodological quality and risk of bias using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools. The data acquired in this review reinforce the potential of touchscreen platforms for cognitive assessment across human and rodent models. Behavioral flexibility and visuospatial cognition excelled in terms of comparability. The scarcity of studies and methodological diversity represent significant gaps in the field. Regardless, the available data highlight important opportunities for advancing translational research in cognition with a co-clinical approach.