title: Within-session repeated acquisition behavior in rats as a potential model of executive function.
abstract: Higher levels of cognition, such as executive functions, are known to be disrupted in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. As a potential model of executive function, rats were trained in a three-lever operant conditioning chamber to respond on two of the three levers in one of six possible correct sequences. When the rat completed a two-response sequence correctly for 10 consecutive trials, the correct sequence was randomly changed to another two-response sequence without signaling the rat. Rats readily acquired the behavioral baseline and completed all six response-sequences within a 60-min session. Phencyclidine, MK-801 ((5S,10R)-(+)-5-Methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine), apomorphine, scopolamine and triazolam all produced dose-related decreases in the total number of sequences completed. Phencyclidine and MK-801 markedly increased all errors while scopolamine produced modest increases; triazolam increased only total and intrarule errors, while apomorphine had no significant effect on errors. The present results suggest that within-session repeated acquisition of response sequences has the potential to be a useful model for studying executive function in rats.
authors.affiliation: The Lilly Research Laboratories, Neuroscience Division, Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, IN 46285, United States. H.Shannon@Lilly.com
authors.forename: Harlan E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Shannon
authors.forename: Patrick L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Love
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018757:GABA Modulators / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D010622:Phencyclidine / Q000494:pharmacology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D014229:Triazolam / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D018757:GABA Modulators; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists; D014229:Triazolam; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D012601:Scopolamine; D010622:Phencyclidine; D001058:Apomorphine