Development of novel tasks for studying view-invariant object recognition in rodents: sensitivity to scopolamine.

Development of novel tasks for studying view-invariant object recognition in rodents: sensitivity to scopolamine.
Behav Brain Res. 2018 Feb 02;:
Authors: Mitchnick KA, Wideman CE, Huff AE, Palmer D, McNaughton BL, Winters BD
Abstract
The capacity to recognize objects from different view-points or angles, referred to as view-invariance, is an essential process that humans engage in daily. Currently, the ability to investigate the neurobiological underpinnings of this phenomenon is limited, as few ethologically valid view-invariant object recognition tasks exist for rodents. Here, we report two complementary, novel view-invariant object recognition tasks in which rodents physically interact with three-dimensional objects. Prior to experimentation, rats and mice were given extensive experience with a set of 'pre-exposure' objects. In a variant of the spontaneous object recognition task, novelty preference for pre-exposed or new objects was assessed at various angles of rotation (45°, 90° or 180°); unlike control rodents, for whom the objects were novel, rats and mice tested with pre-exposed objects did not discriminate between rotated and un-rotated objects in the choice phase, indicating substantial view-invariant object recognition. Secondly, using automated operant touchscreen chambers, rats were tested on pre-exposed or novel objects in a pairwise discrimination task, where the rewarded stimulus (S+) was rotated (180°) once rats...

Source: Behavioural Brain Research - February 2, 2018 Category: Neurology Authors: Mitchnick KA, Wideman CE, Huff AE, Palmer D, McNaughton BL, Winters BD Tags: Behav Brain Res Source Type: research