Description
Specifications
Mouse 5CSRTT | Rat CSRTT |
Aperature Dimension: 1.3 x 1.2 x 1.2 cm width x height x depth; 1 cm above the floor | Aperture dimension: 2.8 x 2.8 x 2.2 cm width x height x depth; 2 cm above the floor |
Interior Dimension: 20 x 20 x 25 cm | Interior Dimension: 30 x 25 x 30 cm (width x depth x height) |
5 nose poke apertures | 5 nose poke apertures |
LED visual stimuli (IR Based) | LED visual stimuli (IR Based) |
Incandescent house light | Incandescent house light |
Food magazine | Food magazine |
Shock Grid | Shock Grid |
Pellet Dispenser | Pellet Dispenser |
Feces and urine tray; removable | Feces and urine tray; removable |
Aluminum back wall | Aluminum back wall |
Isolation cubicle not included | Isolation cubicle not included |
Features
Conductor Software
- Our 5CSRTT is compatible with 2 software options to control the system and configure protocols
- Our Conductor software for controlling the system alone (no video tracking/analysis included)
- Our complete tracking and analysis package ConductVision.
Pellet Dispenser
- Uses Maze Engineers’ Pellet Dispenser. The user configures what condition(s) a pellet is dispensed. The software captures and reports nose poke events on pellets.
- Learn more about our Pellet Dispenser.
Shock Stimulus
- Shock generator as a separate component outside the Isolation Cubicle
- Removable grid – mouse rod diameter 3mm, spacing 5 mm. Rat rod diameter 6mm, spacing 10mm
- Current control can be controlled programmatically or manually
- Start or stop is controlled programmatically or manually
- Shock: Constant current – from 0.1 to 4.0 mA in 0.1 mA steps
Light Stimulus
- Sound-proof insulation material
- Cubicle material
- Air circulation: one fan on the back wall
Isolation Cubicle
- The light volume is specified by user with range 0-100 with step 1. The light intensity in the chambers is measured by Lux. The relationship between light level and intensity is calibrated.
- Optional: configurable color lights
Introduction
The 5CSRTT (5-Choice Serial Reaction Time Test) Apparatus is used to assess attention and impulse behaviors processes in rodents (Robbins et al., 2002). It consists of an operant test chamber containing a curved wall with five nose poke apertures. A stimulus LED light is present in each aperture to signal food retrieval. Food can be retrieved from a food cachet connected to a food dispenser on the opposite wall of the chamber. During the task, the subject must pay attention to the apertures to detect the signal and respond correctly to obtain the food reward within a limited time window. If the subject responds incorrectly by an error of commission (responding in a hole where the signal is not presented), error of omission (failing to respond to the signal within the prescribed time limit), or premature responses (responding before the signal presentation), it is punished by a time-out period, which is a brief period of darkness. In addition, the 5CSRTT Apparatus also contains a shocker floor grid to provide punishment.
Impaired attention and impulsivity are characteristics of many mental health disorders (Robbins et al., 2002; Egeland, 2007). The 5CSRTT Apparatus can effectively be used to examine impaired attention and impulse control in rodents, which can be used as a model to understand the neurobiology of these psychiatric illnesses. During testing, the subject is placed in the apparatus and required to withhold poking its nose in any of the apertures until the appearance of the signal. Therefore, motor impulsivity can be assessed from the number of premature responses before presenting the visual signal. Additionally, perseverative responses, another form of inhibitory deficit, can also be assessed in which the subjects continue to respond at the response apertures even after signalled food presentation. The 5CRSTT Apparatus measures sustained attention by observing the subject’s ability to complete the task with the visual cue varying in location over a large number of trials. Moreover, varying the visual cue in location, duration, and timing (pre-cue delay) across trials also enables independent assessment of impulsivity. Other aspects of attention, such as selective attention, can also be examined on the 5CSRTT Apparatus by presenting distracting stimuli during the interval between trial onset and visual cue presentation.
The 5CSRTT Apparatus can also be used to investigate the effect of selective lesions, pharmacological manipulations, and diseases and disorders on attention and impulsivity in rodents.
Other apparatuses used to study attention and impulsivity in rodents: