Neurobehavioral Assessments of Cerebral Vasospasm - Animal Models of Acute Neurological Injuries: Injury and Mechanistic Assessments - page 556

Obstacle memory
In this test, a cat is trained to walk on a slow treadmill and the dorsal
surface of its hind paw is randomly (e.g., approximately every 20
steps), transiently, and gently touched/“hooked” creating hyper-
fl exion. The degree of hyperfl exion serves as a measure. The test has
been designed to assess working memory in cats ( 150, 151 ).

No appropriate behavioral tests are available. 6.9. Language

Disturbances
(Aphasias)

6.10. Defi cits
in Problem Solving

Matching/nonmatching tasks are used—see above.

See below in attention defi cits.

6.11. Go-Trial Reaction
Time Task and
Stop-Signal Reaction
Time Task

6.12. Attentional
Set Shifting Test

See below in attention defi cits.

In this test, a dog attempts to retrieve a food treat connected via
string by pulling the string. There is a transparent barrier between
the dog and the treat, and the string is passed under the barrier to
the dog. Either one or two strings under various angles might be
available to the dog to manipulate, but the treat is attached only to
one string. Successful retrieval of the treat required the animals to
pull the appropriate string either by pawing or grasping with their
jaws until the treat emerged from under the barrier.
Measures for this test are success rate and time required to
solve the problem.
This is a means-end task and can be used to assess problem
solving in a dog ( 152 ).

6.13. String
Pulling Task

The Continuous Performance Test (CPT) is the most characterized
model of human attention; it has been used for more than 50 years to
measure attention performance ( 153 ). The fi ve-choice serial reaction
time test (5-CSRTT) is the preclinical analog of the CPT ( 154 ).
Rats, mice, and monkeys have been tested in the 5-CSRTT.
Rodents are typically tested in a chamber with fi ve nose-poke holes
with lights positioned in a horizontal line on one wall. On the wall,
directly opposite the holes is a small opening with a reward dis-
penser. Before testing, the animal has to be food restricted and
trained to nose poke for a food reward. During testing, numerous
trials are given.
For monkeys, 5-CSRTT is a part of touch-screen computer-
based system, the CANTAB. Accuracy and time to respond are

6.14. Attention Defi cits

6.14.1. Five-Choice
Serial-Reaction Time Task