Research data · Attention and executive function
Puzzle box
From 2021 to 2025, 34 animal research papers mentioned the puzzle box in their title or abstract, ranking it 71st of the 90 tests we track.
It had 6 papers in 2011 to 2015. We compare the two periods only when each has 10 or more papers.
Papers by year
Animal research papers that mention the puzzle box, by year, 2001 to 2026
The 2026 bar counts papers added to PubMed by November 8, 2026.
- Papers in a full year
- 2026 so far
Show the counts for each year
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 0 |
| 2002 | 0 |
| 2003 | 0 |
| 2004 | 0 |
| 2005 | 4 |
| 2006 | 1 |
| 2007 | 0 |
| 2008 | 0 |
| 2009 | 0 |
| 2010 | 2 |
| 2011 | 1 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2013 | 1 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 1 |
| 2016 | 5 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2018 | 5 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 8 |
| 2023 | 7 |
| 2024 | 6 |
| 2025 | 8 |
| 2026 (part year) | 5 |
Which species the papers used
Each bar is a share of the 34 papers from 2021 to 2025. A paper can use more than one species, so the shares can add to more than 100%.
Species
“Other animals” counts papers that use none of the species this chart names.
Strains and genetic lines
Strain names come from the MeSH terms PubMed adds when it indexes a paper. PubMed has indexed 28 of the 34 papers, so each bar is a share of those 28.
A paper indexed under two of these headings, such as knockout mice and a strain, counts under both.
Disease models in papers that mention the puzzle box
Each bar is one disease model, with how many of the 34 papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention the puzzle box use it, and what share that is. The model comes from the paper's MeSH terms, the subject headings the National Library of Medicine adds when it indexes a paper. A paper without MeSH terms gets its model from PubTator 3, NCBI's text-mining service, if PubTator 3 finds the disease in the title or abstract. A paper can count under more than one model.
Papers from 2021 to 2025 by disease model
Tests mentioned alongside the puzzle box
Each bar is one test, with how many of the 34 papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention the puzzle box also mention it, and what share that is.
Papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention both tests
To count the papers that mention three or more tests together, start from the puzzle box in the test battery tool.
The most cited papers from 2021 to 2025
These papers from 2021 to 2025 mention the puzzle box and have the most citations, as counted by NIH's iCite on November 5, 2026.
Nasal administration of mitochondria reverses chemotherapy-induced cognitive deficits.
Theranostics, 2021. 99 citations.
Theranostics, 2022. 42 citations.
Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone.
Nature, 2024. 26 citations.
Bumblebees acquire alternative puzzle-box solutions via social learning.
PLoS Biol, 2023. 20 citations.
The effect of urbanization on innovation in spotted hyenas.
Anim Cogn, 2021. 18 citations.
How we counted
A count is the number of animal research papers whose title or abstract mentions one of the test's search terms. It is not a count of experiments, labs or animals.
A paper that mentions the puzzle box only in its methods is missed, so the count runs low. The count includes 1 review. For 6 of the 34 papers, PubMed's indexing gave no species, so the species came from PubTator 3 finding one in the title or abstract.
The test's search terms are in the test list download. The full method, with each source and its terms of use, is on our main page, Behavioral tests in published research.
More attention and executive function tests
These attention and executive function tests also have a page, with their papers from 2021 to 2025. Each test with 30 or more papers gets one.
How to cite
APA
ConductScience. (2026, November 10). Puzzle box in published research [Data set]. https://conductscience.com/resources/data/behavioral-tests/puzzle-box
BibTeX
@misc{conductscience_puzzle_box_2026,
author = {{ConductScience}},
title = {Puzzle box in published research},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
url = {https://conductscience.com/resources/data/behavioral-tests/puzzle-box},
note = {Data set, released November 10, 2026},
}Apparatus for the puzzle box
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