Touchscreen system for visual cognition in rats.

了解大脑在信息快速整合和存储过程中发生的电生理变化是行为神经科学家面临的一个关键挑战。鉴于了解这些变化通常需要侵入性技术，啮齿动物神经系统通常用作此类实验的模型。本申请中所要求的设备是高度专业化的，以允许啮齿动物在各种各样的任务中的行为评估。至关重要的是，该设备将能够同时记录啮齿动物在执行任务时离散大脑区域的神经活动。用这种设备进行的实验将提供对大脑行为关系的直接见解。所要求的设备包括四个全自动、计算机控制、带触摸屏的测试室。触摸屏使各种行为模式密切模仿那些在人类神经心理学被管理。大鼠根据任务的具体情况对屏幕上呈现的视觉提示做出反应，以获得食物奖励。在执行任务期间，大鼠将被长期植入电极，并且当动物参与任务的不同部分时，将从离散的脑区域直接记录神经活动。虽然这种设备在神经科学中有着广泛的应用，但它最初将用于旨在解决暴露于急性应激改变对学习和记忆至关重要的大脑回路活动模式的机制的实验。预计这些实验将对了解急性压力等体验因素如何影响包括人类在内的一系列哺乳动物物种的学习和记忆等认知过程产生重大影响。

Understanding the electrophysiological changes that occur in the brain during the rapid integration and storage of information is a critical challenge for behavioral neuroscientists. Given the invasive techniques typically needed to understand these changes, the rodent nervous system is commonly used as a model for such experiments. The equipment requested in the present application is highly specialized to allow for behavioral assessments of rodents on a large variety of tasks. Critically, the equipment will enable simultaneous recording of neural activity from discrete brain areas of rodents while they are engaged in the tasks. Experiments performed with this equipment will provide direct insights into brain-behavior relationships. The equipment requested includes four fully automated, computer controlled testing chambers with touchscreens. The touchscreens enable a variety of behavioral paradigms closely modeled after those used in human neuropsychology to be administered. Rats respond to visual cues presented on a screen according to the specifics of the task to receive food reward. During performance of the tasks, rats will be chronically implanted with electrodes and neural activity will be directly recorded from discrete brain areas while the animal is engaged in different parts of the tasks. While this equipment has a broad range of applications in neuroscience, it will initially be used in experiments designed to address the mechanisms through which the exposure to acute stress alters patterns of activity in the brain circuits critical for learning and memory. It is expected that these experiments will have significant implications for understanding how experiential factors, such as acute stress, affect cognitive processes such as learning and memory in a range of mammalian species including humans.